Watch your assets - Packets - mailing lists - Brief Article

Chief Executive, The, March, 2002 by Molly Rose Teuke

Ever thought of your mailing list as a cash cow? Better start now, advises Peter Candito, president of CC3 List/Database Management and Brokerage, based in Ivyland, Pa. The demand for both electronic and postal mailing lists has never been greater, he says, citing one client who began marketing a list of 400,000 names and within 18 months had exceeded $600,000 in net revenue.

"The payback depends on the size of the list and the shape it's in," says Candito, "but it typically won't cost a lot to get to the point where you gain incremental revenue over what it costs to get your database up to snuff."

Another advantage, says Candito, is that as you develop your list to make it more marketable -- adding opt-in opportunities (asking your customers if they'd like other offerings that suit their interests), deepening the demographic information attached to each name -- you're also developing a more complete database for your own use.

Why market your list at all? Because you can't afford to ignore a ready asset with a high payback-to-cost ratio. "Internet companies used to see themselves as having different marketing needs from other companies, and for a couple of years that was true," says Candito. "But now they're competing with every media and communications channel, and they have to make the most of every possible revenue source."

www.cc3.com