Merge Purge:
How to Do It. Why You Should Do It. What You will Learnby Doing It.
True or false?
1. Merge Purge is a do-it-yourself job.
2. Merge Purge will prevent you from mailing the sameindividual more than once.
3. Lists with a high percentage of unique records willgenerally outperform lists with low %.
Direct mail is a great acquisition tool
For a cross-functional organization like the American Red Cross,direct mail is the best channel for stewardship and stakeholdersupport, and for Memorial Sloane-Kettering. “It's simply the mostcost-efficient method of acquiring new donors,” Walker says.“Donors tend to be older. It's not because 30-something-year-oldsdon't like to give, it's that they don't live at same address [for long]and have less disposable income.”
Melissa Hoffmann Jan 01, 2012 Direct Marketing News Direct-mail heavynonprofits apply an integrated approach
http://www.dmnews.com/direct-mail-heavy-nonprofits-apply-an-integrated-approach/article/220909/
… biggest finding of all is that direct-mail givingstill overwhelmingly brings in the majority of
fundraising revenue.
•Blackbaud 2011 donorCentrics Internet and MultichannelGiving Benchmarking Report
•The 2011 Target Analytics report covers 15.6 million donorsand more than $1.16 billion.
•For large direct-marketing organizations that participated,the majority of gifts still come in via direct mail.
http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/article/direct-mail-still-rules-day-fundraising/1?e=tgolab%40mediaresearch.org#
What is merge purge?
Process of combining two or more lists or files,
simultaneously identifying and/or combining duplicates
and eliminating unwanted records such as deadbeats
and nixies.
How do you do it?
Use a service bureau-software is great but havingpeople who can dig into data is VERY helpful
List broker, production manager, service bureau,database manager, account manager/direct mailmanager all need to work together
How long does it take?
Once all lists have arrived3-5 business daysIncludes CASS, NCOA, deceased, de-dupe, coding,splits, etc…Order lists at least one week priorAllow longer
Why you do it?
The purpose of the merge/purge is to provide a mailer withthe best possible list of names.
What Can You Learn?
Clean List or Not
Which outside lists overlap
Which lists have high match % to your house list
Which lists to cut
What can you earn?
Save on DMA pander matches, NCOA/CASS rejects, deceased,prisons, intra dupes by NOT mailing them
Use m/p reports to support net names deals. Computer verificationrequired.
Maximize your ROI by mailing multis as many times as you can.
What goes into the m/p-Categories/Status of Lists
Test Lists• Brand new• New to package• New select
Re-Tests• Marginal result• Different terms• New package
Continuations•5x Rule•All available•Suppress Previous Usage
Types of Lists
Traditional
•Donor List•Buyer List•Subscription list
Other
•Compiled Lists•Modeled Lists
House
•Lapsed List•Non-donors, buyers,etc•Suppression
Instructions/Cooperation
•Work with your service bureau•Tell them whatʼs coming•Inform them of changes•Stay in touch-ideally have online access•Resolving quantity variance (+/-10%)•CASS-Blindly accept or review (i.e. apt bldgs)•Do you need finder #ʼs?•NCOA-How far back do you go?
Prior to m/p- Instructions to service bureau
List priorityI. Suppression
a) Current or active buyer/donor/subscriberb) Best customers, major donor, VIP, board
members,other channel/mediumc) Internal Do Not Mail, Deceased, Chronic Non-
Responders, etc..
II. Lapsed if you wish to mailIII. Third party listsIV. Within the lists-rental versus exchange?
Instructions to s/b-other
Appending-Finder #,congressional data, Ask string,offer code, PURL's, CBSA, county,etc...
Splits, package tests, multis
Coding-structure (i.e.BG1FF121109)
Seeds-Yours
Coding Structure
BG1FF121109
BG=Bishop Gassis Sudan Relief Fund1=Prospect, 2 for House/ExistingFF=From the Field (Package Name)12-December11-201109-Segment/List #
Do not blindly suppress lapsed records
•Hard suppress actives
•Separately code lapsed
•Matches between lapsed file & outside lists indicate prime lapsedprospects
•Test mail the matches versus the non-matches
•Hint-the matches will win
Prior to M/P-delivery status
SB check for file?
Continuation?
Did correct file ship?
OK to keep
OK to keep
Status
0%-25,00025,0000List E
108.7%+96011,00011,960List D
82.92%-1,70810,0008,292List C
92.14%-78610,0009,214List B
100.02%+15,0005,001List A
%VarianceExpectedQty.
Rcvd Qty.List Name
Getting from input to useable records-Theirproblems
54,97757,042Total
21,85610225627980222,575List E
11,508124105113357511,960List D
7,98010472252828,292List C
8,833161711751909,214List B
4,8005131412405,001List A
UseableRecords
IntraDupes
DeceasedDrops
DMAPander
NCOACASSRejects
InputQty.
List Name
Getting from useable to mailable records-Yourproblems
49.5%28,2367,76118,98054,977Total
854%12,2133,6326,01121,856List E
1427%3,1911,6326,68511,508List D
1332%2,6261,4153,9397,980List C
664%5,8519152,0678,833List B
287%4,3551672784,800List A
% UniqueRank
% UniqueNetNamesCoded byList
MultisIn-HouseSuppressionList
MailableRecords
List Name
Relationship Between Unique Percentage ofRecords and Performance
List E
List D
List C
List B
List A
List Name
6$1.75854%12,213
1 (Highest)$3.6314-(Lowest)27%3,191
5$1.951332%2,626
10$0.99664%5,851
14 (Lowest)$0.262- (2nd Highest)87%4,355
ROI RankROI% UniqueRank
% UniqueQty.
Multis
Cha-Ching
Multis
•Multibuyer-duplicate record on two or more customer lists,indicating that the person has madepurchases/donations/subscribers/compiled from multiple lists, alsocalled multiple buyer.
•Multibuyers are likely to have a special propensity tobuy/donate/subscribe/engage-in-modeled-behavior
•List costs for multis stays with original list…first drop
•If the prospect on List A is good (and of course they are becausewhy else would you and your broker have selected them) then aprospect on List A & List B is better
Multis Detail
5x+ Total(100+29+(Rounds 7-9)11= 140
4x+ Total(297+100+29+(Rounds 7-9)11= 437
3x+ Total(1,052+297+100+29+(Rounds7-9) 11= 1,489
4,012+1,052+297+100+29+ (Rounds7-9) 11=5,501
Why is thistotal not 7,761?
5,501
2,708
1,064
841
742
146
Totalsaka 2x+
Total
List E
List D
List C
List B
List A
List Name
291002971,0524,012
3381265272,011
113264217738
62278176553
7726117585
21315125
6+5x4x3x2x
Final Mail Files
Records coded to lists Records coded to multis Records coded to package splits Records coded to package tests
06/05/12BG1FF0512081,729Balance 2x Multis +
06/05/12BG1FF0512072,708List E 2xMultis +
34,789Total
BG1FF051299White Mail
06/26/12BG1FF0512091,0523xMultis +
06/05/12BG1FF0512061,064List D 2xMultis +
05/15/12BG1FF05120512,213List E
05/15/12BG1FF0512043,191List D
05/15/12BG1FF0512032,626List C
05/15/12BG1FF0512025,851List B
05/15/12BG1FF0512014,355List A
Mail DateCodeQty.List Name
M/P-what did we learn?
1. Use a professional
2. Mail multis as many times as you've acquired them
3. Look for new lists but beware the list with a high %of unique names
Q&A
Thank you for your time!James Lawrence [email protected]
www.lawrencedirect.com540-349-9278
Lawrence Direct Marketing Inc. Jim Lawrence
James Lawrence@LawDirectMktng