Thanks to a data hygiene/enhancement tool, Madison, WI-based apparel marketer Wintersilks experienced a 40%-60% lift in the performance of names in the middle tier of its house file.
Wintersilks did an A/B-split mail test on its house file in December 2004, mailing a control group of house file addresses against a group of addresses enhanced by software from Little Rock, AR-based data solutions provider CognitiveData. The software, which incorporates data from outside sources as well as name/address hygiene tools, helped locate 12- to 36-month buyers who had moved or changed their name since their previous purchase.
Donna Peota, Wintersilks’ marketing manager, says that the cataloger’s house file had been littered with name and address permutations from consumers who had moved, purchased from multiple retail channels, bought under multiple names, using their maiden name one time and their married name another, for instance. Wintersilks, which mails about 20 million-25 million catalogs annually, will now incorporate the data tool into its overall circulation plan to better enable it to mail deeper into its house file and reactivate dormant customers.