YOUR ON MY LIST..... please?

Recently, while browsing the net, I stumbled upon a website that politely requested I "get on their list." And while I can appreciate the sentiment of the company wanting to keep in touch and make sure that they are regularly communicating with their online community, having someone tell me "I'm on their list" makes me think they have a hit out on my head. 

So maybe not everyone immediately jumps to assassination when opting into a mailing list, but it is harder and harder for companies to grow an internal database of opted in prospects who want to hear the news and offers about a given industry. People are more and more protective of personal information, and even enticing offers, giveaways, and "member only" specials are not enough to get people to provide that precious contact information. 

Getting in touch doesn't have to be a struggle though. There are a few ways to encourage opt ins to an internal list for future direct mail and email campaigns.

Not all Customers are the Same

Retention Marketing Vs. Prospect Marketing

Most marketing plans are so focused on acquisition that they miss opportunities housed within their own internal customer base.  Acquisition marketing tactics tend to be more expensive and less effective than simply refocusing marketing efforts towards customer retention. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70% versus the probability of selling to a new prospect which is 5-20% (Source: Top 5 Customer Retention Marketing Tactics” April Dunford, Rocket Watcher Product Marketing for Startups). Because they have purchased before, current customers have already proven themselves to be perfectly qualified prospects, and are more likely to redeem any offers presented.

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Not only are redemption rates on retention campaigns higher than their prospecting counterparts, but response rates, and in turn, return on investment are significantly better than prospect marketing campaigns. Test after test has proven that letters mailed to a list of past customers will achieve more than double the results when compared to the same