Compiled consumer databases allow direct mail marketers to hone in on an audience of their ideal targets in a specific geographic region using demographic, behavioral and interest data. This database is one of the most complete lists of known and verified adult consumers located in the US.
Compiled is a very important distinction to look for when choosing a consumer database as it is much different than response data; data that is compiled when someone responds to a direct offer. Response data typically contains a very small population of all US adult consumers, those who have responded to that direct offer or survey data.
Compiled consumer data is much different and comprehensive. This type of data is pulled from hundreds of sources such as public and court records, real property information, phone directories, consumer survey responses, self-reported and purchase transaction data reported by third party providers, publisher & catalog data and many others.
The data in the compiled consumer database is not just taken from one source, but rather the names and addresses are commingled from several sources to create one master list that encompasses nearly all adult consumers living in the US.
Data hygiene is performed on the database on a regular basis to ensure the highest level of deliverability available. Regular hygiene maintenance done to the compiled consumer database includes address standardization, Do Not Mail file processing, deceased file processing, deduping and processing against the NCOA (National Change of Address) database.
The compiled consumer database is a very large and robust data file, that is popular due to its overall coverage and multitude of selections for segmentation and targeting.
So, how is all this consumer data best used to achieve targeted marketing results? Once we have a base file of primary records, we start matching these primary record types with demographic and psychographic data. Again, using 100’s of sources of information, we can identify various elements of information that can help marketers build segments of the population that have similar attributes.
Attribute selections on the compiled consumer database are vast and range from things like age, income, marital status, gender, homeowner vs renter and home value to a variety of behavioral characteristics, interest data and past purchase behaviors.
Keep in mind though, that some elements have better coverage than others. Perhaps we might know common data like gender or age on 95% of the database, but for other more targeted elements like self-reported contributors to child welfare cause or interest in dogs, we may only be able to distinguish a smaller percentage of the database.
With the large set of elements that we can identify within the compiled consumer database we can look at the data in a few different ways including segmentation of the data or life stage groups. Life stage data groups are predefined segments that are created using demographic and behavior types that help marketers define those distinct sets of consumers’ likes, dislikes, lifestyles and purchase behaviors.
Compiled consumer databases are the best choice when you are needing a comprehensive and robust list for your targeted consumer direct mail marketing campaign.