How To Forecast The Rollout Response Of Mailing Lists From A Sample Test In Direct Mail

HOW TO FORECAST THE ROLLOUT RESPONSE OF MAILING LIST FROM A SAMPLE TEST IN DIRECT MAIL Testing new mailing lists is necessary in direct mail because the lists provide access to new and profitable customers, but testing is a costly affair. The high cost of testing can be justified if tests yield enough response to pay for it. The fact is that mailers (list users) often lose money on list testing. Therefore, what the mailers would like to do is to test new lists with minimum cost, and to conduct the test in such a way that the rollout response can be predicted with a reasonable amount of accuracy. Speed is an other concern in list testing. If a list is good, the mailer would like to use all the names right away. Without a satisfactory testing procedure, mailers hesitate to jump from a small test to a full run, no matter what the test results reveal. The procedure often used is something like this: First try 5,000 names; if they work, try another 10,000 names; if they also work, try another 25,000 names, and so on. By so doing, mailers at times miss the opportunity to reap the full benefit of a good list. This is because by the time the mailer is ready to use a large bulk of the list ...