How to Find the Right Prospects With Direct Mail

Finding the right prospects is the fastest way to gain new customers and one of the most critical elements in a successful direct mail campaign. In today's data-rich marketing environment, audience targeting has become more precise and more powerful. One of the most effective methods? List profiling.

List profiling involves analyzing your current customer base to identify patterns and characteristics, then using those insights to find similar prospects. When done well, this approach improves your response rates and maximizes your return on investment.

Let’s explore two popular profiling tools and how they’re used today.

Claritas PRIZM Premier

Claritas PRIZM Premier identifies over 68 consumer segments based on demographic, geographic, behavioral, and psychographic data. These segments are grouped into 11 LifeStage Groups and 14 Social Groups that consider factors like:

• Income, education, occupation
• Age and presence of children
• Urbanicity (city, suburb, rural)
• Home value and ownership

In addition to demographics, PRIZM provides behavioral data such as:

Purchase Behaviors:

• Apparel, appliances, automotive
• Consumer packaged goods
• Financial services & investment habits
• Travel and technology preferences

Media Behaviors:

• TV, streaming, podcasts
• Internet and social media usage
• Print and mobile engagement

Claritas continues to evolve its platform by integrating consumer movement and digital data to help marketers reach audiences across channels including direct mail.

SnapShot by AccuData

SnapShot uses statistical modeling to profile your best customers and then identifies lookalike prospects. It offers deep insight into both consumers and businesses using comprehensive demographic and firmographic overlays.

Consumer Attributes Include:

• Age, gender, marital status, ethnicity
• Occupation, education, income
• Home value, dwelling type, lifestyle
• Credit and investment indicators

Business Attributes Include:

• Employee size, annual revenue, SIC codes
• Credit grade, ownership, expenses
• Years in business, franchise status

SnapShot’s flexibility makes it a great fit for B2C and B2B direct mail campaigns. In recent years, improvements in data hygiene and real-time appending have made these insights even more accurate and actionable.

The Power of Profiling in Direct Mail

Profiling doesn't just help you identify the right audience, it helps you craft the right message. By pairing profiling data with variable data printing (VDP), you can customize not only the copy but also the images and offers in each mail piece. Personalization has become a marketing must, with studies showing that personalized direct mail can drive response rates 3x higher than non-personalized versions.

And that’s not all, modern VDP technology now supports hyper-personalized campaigns that combine geography, lifestyle, purchase intent, and behavioral triggers, which can increase engagement even further.

What About Cost?

One common misconception is that data profiling is expensive. But when you factor in the lift in response which is often 10% to 50% or more, depending on your offer and creative, the ROI typically outweighs the investment. In fact, profiling often reduces wasted spend by helping you avoid sending mail to unqualified recipients.

Getting Started

There are many list providers and profiling services available beyond Claritas and SnapShot. Choose one that aligns with your goals, whether you're focused on consumer engagement, B2B lead generation, or donor acquisition for nonprofits.

When you send the right offer to the right person, at the right time, your chances of conversion skyrocket.

Are you ready to get more from your direct mail?

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.