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Controlled-circulation lists are a valuable resource
for high-tech marketers implementing focused direct mail activities
within specific vertical market segments. This article will provide
you with a better understanding of controlled-circulation magazine
lists and several ideas on integrating them into your customer acquisition
programs.
Several months ago I commented on Geoffrey Moore's book, Crossing
the Chasm, which discussed strategies on positioning high-tech products
for broad-based acceptance. The core technique was to first focus
on a particular market, acquire customers within that market, and
then use that market momentum to pivot into other markets (referred
by Moore as being in "the bowling alley.") Controlled-circulation
lists can provide you with a responsive direct mail universe for
attaining these goals.
First, let's define a clear and simple meaning for 'controlled-circulation.'
Usually associated with business-to-business magazines, a controlled-circulation
publication is free to a predetermined quantity of subscribers who
have been qualified for its receipt. This qualification is typically
performed by the analysis of a very detailed questionnaire which
asks the readers such questions as industry, title, purchasing authority,
product interests, and more.
Since a controlled publication does not generate any revenue from
subscriptions, the business model is totally dependent on advertising
(and list) sales. Due to the extensive qualification process, the
magazine publisher is able to present potential advertisers with
very precise industry data on its readers and the publication's
reach into a specific market segment.
Let's take a closer look at the pricing and selection criteria
available on a controlled-circulation list. We will use CMP's InformationWeek
as an example, which maintains a readership base of 300,000 corporate
IT (information technology) buyers. The current base price on InformationWeek
is $140/M for qualified US recipients. Telephone numbers are available
with the addresses at a base price of $200/M. Selection prices range
from $5/M to $15/M.
InformationWeek offers the selection of individuals by Title (corporate,
financial management, IS management, consultants, and more), Industry
(manufacturing, government, education, media, etc.), Number of Employees
(1,000 and under, 1,001 - 10,000, over 10,000), Product Specified
(computers, software, networking technologies, and peripherals which
are all further defined into specific categories), Annual Dollar
Purchase, and more. With this level of selection, your list broker
can help you construct a subset or multiple subsets of this list
universe for direct mail testing purposes.
The core title select within InformationWeek is Information Systems
Management. Though at first sight, you might think it is attractive
to mail into corporate titles as such as President or CEO, it is
most likely that the DP/MIS managers are the ones who are reviewing
and recommending the purchase of products.
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Corporate titles are effective in smaller-sized firms, since the
President's and Owners of small companies typically make product
purchasing decisions. However, in the medium to large sized firms,
you want to target the mid-level managers who could yield a direct
benefit from your product. And remember, these individuals typically
are in charge of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of systems per
site.
An interesting select on this file is the ability to target consultants.
Consultants have the ability to recommend products and services
to other organizations, which could lead to additional multi-site
licenses of your product. You might consider testing a specialized
offer for consultants, since they are an important group who will
most likely become early-adopters of your product, leading to referral
business.
The Industry select allows you to communicate the unique benefits
of your product as it relates to a specific industry. This follows
Moore's strategy of pinpointing and capturing a particular market,
and then leveraging that capture to move into other markets. Your
strategy might be to concentrate your direct mail prospecting efforts
in the area of Construction, Education, Health/Medical, or Finance.
Whatever segment it is, your offer will be presented to a very captive
audience who is constantly seeking ways to enhance the way they
work.
As an example, lets look at the list strategy implemented by a
software publisher launching a new utility program designed for
Novell networks. The utility enhances workgroup activity on networks
with 100 or more PCs. A decision was made to address the banking
and financial markets first, due to their heavy use of networked
PC systems. A customized prospecting universe was created from the
InformationWeek list, selecting IT managers, the industry select
of Banking/Finance, a product select of Novell, and an employee
size of 1000+, yielding sites with more than 100 PCs.
To maximize the impact of this end-user mailing, resellers from
VarBusiness were also selected, obtaining those who sold Novell
compatible products into the banking and financial communities.
The combined mailings created a very successful program, with a
heightened synergy between the resellers and end-users.
As with any controlled-circulation list, they bring the benefits
of targeting qualified individuals with longevity in a specific
industry, multi-product purchase potential, and the ability to recommend
products to other organizations. And as an added benefit, controlled-circulation
lists represent a very clean and monitored list universe that has
been through an official BPA audit.
If you are following Moore's Chasm strategy, contact your List
Broker and have him or her guide you in the proper usage of the
controlled-circulation lists that are readily available for rent.
You might even be surprised at some of the very unique markets that
are being addressed.
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