Tracking the elusive reader: In this landscape of layoffs and shakeups, a job-hopping audience can be tough to trail. Here's how b-to-b publishers are validating reader information

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Jan, 2002 by Susan Thea Posnock

ADVERTISERS WANT GUARANTEES

But more and more, advertisers want a guarantee that they're getting what they pay for. List verification is one way to provide that assurance. "The publishers who are really good are providing advertisers with an audience that is truly relevant," says Mark Facey, president of the eponymous telemarketing firm. And telephone verification can help get you to the right people much faster, he says.

From an advertiser's perspective, the call for increased scrutiny is understandable. "If you're selling a technology product that costs $50,000, there are only so many people who can justify that expenditure on behalf of their organization," says Levy. So to many advertisers, audience size doesn't matter. Peripheral readers hold no value. But assurances that the person who's reading CIO is authorized to make that $50,000 purchase is important.

UPGRADING LIST MARKET VALUE

Some publishers aren't using this type of telemarketing to keep current files fresh, but to keep old lists alive. At this point, Oldenbrook says 101 communications doesn't use telemarketing to verify lists across the board. But it has made calls to clean and better position some older lists for rental opportunities. The company employs telemarketing to verify data on lists of magazines that are no longer being published, such as Internetwork. "At some point you're going to want to invest the money to keep them from aging," says Oldenbrook. Once the lists are updated, they are not only better candidates for list rental opportunities, they become much more valuable for in-house marketing efforts such as conferences and trade show offers.

You can't expect to make any money on a list that's allowed to sit and collect dust, says Oldenbrook. "Some people will not even look at a list that hasn't been updated in the last six months, so verification keeps it viable." Plus, it boosts your chances for increased usage. "If someone does a test of your list and gets poor results, they're not going to come back. You don't get return business."

Oldenbrook reiterates that this type of telemarketing is no longer cost prohibitive. A receptionist or an assistant can confirm the information, so it tends to be less expensive because you don't have to actually talk to the subscriber, she says. "But we wouldn't want to spend more than $5 per call."

In more and more telemarketing efforts, publishers are looking beyond the customary name-rank-and-serial-number approach. At the end of the call, they're tacking on a few marketing and demographic questions--information that differs from the data collected for auditing purposes. "We include questions that we don't report on an audit-- that circulation doesn't use--but that the sales staff may want," says Peggie Kegel, circulation director for Advanstar Communications.

Some sample questions: What new equipment are you buying? Are you interested in trade shows? What kinds of tools and software does your company use?" This is not the only means of amassing this information, says Kegel. But if you already have a customer on the phone, it can make sense to probe a little.