Merge Purge:

How to Do It. Why You Should Do It. What You will Learnby Doing It.

True or false?

1. Merge Purge is a do-it-yourself job.

2. Merge Purge will prevent you from mailing the sameindividual more than once.

3. Lists with a high percentage of unique records willgenerally outperform lists with low %.

Direct mail is a great acquisition tool

For a cross-functional organization like the American Red Cross,direct mail is the best channel for stewardship and stakeholdersupport, and for Memorial Sloane-Kettering. “It's simply the mostcost-efficient method of acquiring new donors,” Walker says.“Donors tend to be older. It's not because 30-something-year-oldsdon't like to give, it's that they don't live at same address [for long]and have less disposable income.”

Melissa Hoffmann Jan 01, 2012 Direct Marketing News Direct-mail heavynonprofits apply an integrated approach

http://www.dmnews.com/direct-mail-heavy-nonprofits-apply-an-integrated-approach/article/220909/

… biggest finding of all is that direct-mail givingstill overwhelmingly brings in the majority of

fundraising revenue.

•Blackbaud 2011 donorCentrics Internet and MultichannelGiving Benchmarking Report

•The 2011 Target Analytics report covers 15.6 million donorsand more than $1.16 billion.

•For large direct-marketing organizations that participated,the majority of gifts still come in via direct mail.

http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/article/direct-mail-still-rules-day-fundraising/1?e=tgolab%40mediaresearch.org#

What is merge purge?

Process of combining two or more lists or files,

simultaneously identifying and/or combining duplicates

and eliminating unwanted records such as deadbeats

and nixies.

How do you do it?

Use a service bureau-software is great but havingpeople who can dig into data is VERY helpful

List broker, production manager, service bureau,database manager, account manager/direct mailmanager all need to work together

How long does it take?

Once all lists have arrived3-5 business daysIncludes CASS, NCOA, deceased, de-dupe, coding,splits, etc…Order lists at least one week priorAllow longer

Why you do it?

The purpose of the merge/purge is to provide a mailer withthe best possible list of names.

What Can You Learn?

Clean List or Not

Which outside lists overlap

Which lists have high match % to your house list

Which lists to cut

What can you earn?

Save on DMA pander matches, NCOA/CASS rejects, deceased,prisons, intra dupes by NOT mailing them

Use m/p reports to support net names deals. Computer verificationrequired.

Maximize your ROI by mailing multis as many times as you can.

What goes into the m/p-Categories/Status of Lists

Test Lists• Brand new• New to package• New select

Re-Tests• Marginal result• Different terms• New package

Continuations•5x Rule•All available•Suppress Previous Usage

Types of Lists

Traditional

•Donor List•Buyer List•Subscription list

Other

•Compiled Lists•Modeled Lists

House

•Lapsed List•Non-donors, buyers,etc•Suppression

Instructions/Cooperation

•Work with your service bureau•Tell them whatʼs coming•Inform them of changes•Stay in touch-ideally have online access•Resolving quantity variance (+/-10%)•CASS-Blindly accept or review (i.e. apt bldgs)•Do you need finder #ʼs?•NCOA-How far back do you go?

Prior to m/p- Instructions to service bureau

List priorityI. Suppression

a) Current or active buyer/donor/subscriberb) Best customers, major donor, VIP, board

members,other channel/mediumc) Internal Do Not Mail, Deceased, Chronic Non-

Responders, etc..

II. Lapsed if you wish to mailIII. Third party listsIV. Within the lists-rental versus exchange?

Instructions to s/b-other

Appending-Finder #,congressional data, Ask string,offer code, PURL's, CBSA, county,etc...

Splits, package tests, multis

Coding-structure (i.e.BG1FF121109)

Seeds-Yours

Coding Structure

BG1FF121109

BG=Bishop Gassis Sudan Relief Fund1=Prospect, 2 for House/ExistingFF=From the Field (Package Name)12-December11-201109-Segment/List #

Do not blindly suppress lapsed records

•Hard suppress actives

•Separately code lapsed

•Matches between lapsed file & outside lists indicate prime lapsedprospects

•Test mail the matches versus the non-matches

•Hint-the matches will win

Prior to M/P-delivery status

SB check for file?

Continuation?

Did correct file ship?

OK to keep

OK to keep

Status

0%-25,00025,0000List E

108.7%+96011,00011,960List D

82.92%-1,70810,0008,292List C

92.14%-78610,0009,214List B

100.02%+15,0005,001List A

%VarianceExpectedQty.

Rcvd Qty.List Name

Getting from input to useable records-Theirproblems

54,97757,042Total

21,85610225627980222,575List E

11,508124105113357511,960List D

7,98010472252828,292List C

8,833161711751909,214List B

4,8005131412405,001List A

UseableRecords

IntraDupes

DeceasedDrops

DMAPander

NCOACASSRejects

InputQty.

List Name

Getting from useable to mailable records-Yourproblems

49.5%28,2367,76118,98054,977Total

854%12,2133,6326,01121,856List E

1427%3,1911,6326,68511,508List D

1332%2,6261,4153,9397,980List C

664%5,8519152,0678,833List B

287%4,3551672784,800List A

% UniqueRank

% UniqueNetNamesCoded byList

MultisIn-HouseSuppressionList

MailableRecords

List Name

Relationship Between Unique Percentage ofRecords and Performance

List E

List D

List C

List B

List A

List Name

6$1.75854%12,213

1 (Highest)$3.6314-(Lowest)27%3,191

5$1.951332%2,626

10$0.99664%5,851

14 (Lowest)$0.262- (2nd Highest)87%4,355

ROI RankROI% UniqueRank

% UniqueQty.

Multis

Cha-Ching

Multis

•Multibuyer-duplicate record on two or more customer lists,indicating that the person has madepurchases/donations/subscribers/compiled from multiple lists, alsocalled multiple buyer.

•Multibuyers are likely to have a special propensity tobuy/donate/subscribe/engage-in-modeled-behavior

•List costs for multis stays with original list…first drop

•If the prospect on List A is good (and of course they are becausewhy else would you and your broker have selected them) then aprospect on List A & List B is better

Multis Detail

5x+ Total(100+29+(Rounds 7-9)11= 140

4x+ Total(297+100+29+(Rounds 7-9)11= 437

3x+ Total(1,052+297+100+29+(Rounds7-9) 11= 1,489

4,012+1,052+297+100+29+ (Rounds7-9) 11=5,501

Why is thistotal not 7,761?

5,501

2,708

1,064

841

742

146

Totalsaka 2x+

Total

List E

List D

List C

List B

List A

List Name

291002971,0524,012

3381265272,011

113264217738

62278176553

7726117585

21315125

6+5x4x3x2x

Final Mail Files

Records coded to lists Records coded to multis Records coded to package splits Records coded to package tests

06/05/12BG1FF0512081,729Balance 2x Multis +

06/05/12BG1FF0512072,708List E 2xMultis +

34,789Total

BG1FF051299White Mail

06/26/12BG1FF0512091,0523xMultis +

06/05/12BG1FF0512061,064List D 2xMultis +

05/15/12BG1FF05120512,213List E

05/15/12BG1FF0512043,191List D

05/15/12BG1FF0512032,626List C

05/15/12BG1FF0512025,851List B

05/15/12BG1FF0512014,355List A

Mail DateCodeQty.List Name

M/P-what did we learn?

1. Use a professional

2. Mail multis as many times as you've acquired them

3. Look for new lists but beware the list with a high %of unique names

Q&A

Thank you for your time!James Lawrence james@lawrencedirect.com

www.lawrencedirect.com540-349-9278

Lawrence Direct Marketing Inc. Jim Lawrence

James Lawrence@LawDirectMktng