A Modern Company with Good Old Fashioned Values 
What type of lists are there? A guide to understanding what list will work best for you. 

Business Lists 

Mail order buyers of business products. Generally these files offer few selections but have the advantage of proven responsiveness or purchasing power. 
Exhibition data contains people who have registered to attend trade exhibitions. The registration cards contain information about the individuals company. These files show high levels of interest in exhibition subject areas. 
 
Magazine Subscribers. These could by paid-up subscribers, controlled registered circulation (have to complete detailed registration card which is monitored) or controlled unregistered (receive a magazine free and do not have to complete a card). Publishing lists generally carry quite high levels of selectivity. 
Compiled lists contain people who have not responded, enquired or subscribed. These have been researched by the list owner and put onto the list because of something they do or own. Examples include company’s house information & telephone researched databases. 
 
We only provide data for contacts within Limited Companies. 
 
We do not provide details of sole traders, businesses registered and working from their home address. 

Consumer Lists 

Mail Order Buyers of products through mail order - catalogues plus the internet. These lists carry less selections but show a high level of commitment to buying by mail. The type of catalogue also helps to identify the kind of individuals on the lists. Some lists are profiled which helps list users assess age, income and other characteristics of the buyers. 
Lifestyle lists are built from questionnaires. Members of the public fill in questionnaires giving full details of their homes, family composition, finances and interests. This information can be used to build up a picture of the type of consumer you wish to reach. Typically the surveys collect up to 2,500 separate pieces of information about a consumer. These are the most highly selective lists and also carry an element of responsiveness (due to the filling in and returning of the questionnaire). 
 
Geodemographic based on electoral roll data these lists are overlaid with census data, credit data and household classifications. Characteristics are assumed by a statistical means based on postcodes. These lists can supply large quantities of data in small geographic areas. 
Publishing subscribers to magazines or buyers of products from magazines/ papers off the page. All have paid money for products through the mail. 
 
Consumer compiled lists have the same characteristics as business lists - they have not responded or bought. Examples of consumer compiled lists are professional registers or shareholder files. 

Where to find lists? 

Once you know what you need, how do you get it? 
A List Owner is someone who owns a database and makes it available to other organisations for commercial profit. They rent only their own list and do not have access to other lists. 
 
This is where we come in. 
 
List Managers hold a copy of the owner's database and will carry out marketing and renting duties on behalf of the owner. A list manager may promote more than one list and work on behalf of many different owners. 
 
A List Broker has access to every commercially available list in the world. As with other industries, brokers are independent and have no allegiance to any particular owner or manager. The client is their priority. 

How to find lists? 

To help us find the lists you require, either send us an email via the enquiry form option or alternatively please feel free to give our team a call. 
 
However before sending your enquiry pleasse take a minute to consider the questions below ...it will help us to make the best reccomendations for you. If your still lost please just give us a calll 

Who do you want to target? 

What is the product/service you are promoting? 
Which type of lists have you used before? 
What results did you have? 
What is your mailing volume? 
When do you wish to mail? 
 
These things are important when trying to source lists and by taking a little more time up front to get it right, will save a lot of time and aggravation down the line. We will endeavour to turn around counts in 24/48 hours. 

What is a datacard? 

Datacards summarise list information, explaining how the data is sourced, what selections can be made and the cost of renting the list. In short, all the information required to make an informed decision. 

What makes a good list? 

Frequency of updating. 
Number and type of selection criteria available. 
How closely it matches your target market. 
Size of list - is it large enough to roll out if initial test is successful? 

How do you receive the information? 

Lists are normally made available through secure ftp sites or password protected zipped files. This can vary from owner to owner so it is wise to check your preferred output is available - and at what cost. 

Costs 

Your invoice will normally consist of four different charges: 
Basic list rental price of £ per '000 names. 
Selection of £ per '000 for each selection if requested. 
Output Can have £ per '000 or fixed fee. 
Delivery charge for data. 
Make sure you know exactly what you're getting and paying for by requesting confirmation before placing your order. 

Are there any special rules which apply to lists? 

The Data Protection Act 1984 (& subsequent revisions) was written specifically in regard to direct marketing. This law protects personal information and defines what can and cannot be done with lists. All list owners must be registered with the Data Protection Registrar in order to pass data onto any third parties. 
GDPR 
From the 25th May 2018 all data collating, processing and provision must conform and be comliant with the latest GDPR data protection legislation and there are six legal basis for processing data. 
 
Legitimate Interest - this is where an organisation has legitimate interests to process an individuals data, unless those interests are overridden by the rights of the individual. 
Consent - where the individual has given their consent to the processing of their data 
Contract - where it is necessary for the performance of a contratc to which the individual is a parfy, or to take steps at the request of an individual prior to entering into a contract. 
Legal Obligation - where it is necessary to protect the vital interests of an individual. 
Public Interest - where it is necessary for the performanceof a task carried out in the wider interests of society or in the exercise of a statutory function of the organisation. 
Protect Rights of the data subject- where it is necessary to protect the vital interests of an individual. 

Mailing Preference Service 

A system where consumers can place their details on a suppression file (only applicable to home addresses). List owners ensure that names on this file are not released for rental purposes. 

Telephone Preference Service 

A similar system to the above but relates to telephone calling as opposed to mailing. 

Advertising Standards 

All mailing pieces must comply with advertising standards. List managers and brokers will normally check any mailing sample with the ASA or DMARC prior to processing an order. 
 
Self-Regulation 'Best practice' guidelines adopted by the direct marketing industry include the use of warranties by both list owners and users. These state that the data has been collected in a fair manner and that it will be used according to the rules. 

Sample Mailing Piece 

List owners will always need to see a sample of the mailing piece or email. The reason for this is that they want to make sure that they are not renting to any competitors or competitive products. 

Copyright 

Copyright of the list remains at all times with the list owner. This means that you may not copy or pass on the list to any other person without the list owner's express permission. Names only become 'yours' when they have responded positively to your promotion. 

Gone-aways 

As the list user it is your responsibility to make sure that any amendments, suppressions or changes to the list are passed back to the list owner. It is part of the Data Protection laws and warranties that unhappy mail recipients have their names removed if requested. 

Glossary of terms Learning the lingo 

Datacard 
Make sure you know exactly what you're getting and paying for by requesting confirmation before placing your order. 
Flagging 
A system of highlighting names for easy recognition so that records can be re-selected or not on future orders. 
Keycode 
An identity code on a label or record that shows which list the name originated from. Important for identifying the best performing lists for repeat usage. 
Minimum order 
The minimum order size or value that the list owner will accept. This amount will be charged whether all records are used or not. Normally 5,000 records in the UK and 10,000 in the US. 
Mailsort / Walksort 
Methods of sorting names which allow the user to benefit from Royal Mail discounts. 
Nth name 
A random selection of names on a list - one in N. 
Nett names 
A system of crediting list renters when duplicate names arise from merging a number of different but similar lists. A nett name agreement is normally only available on orders of 20,000 records or more. 
Rental 
In the main, names are not sold but rented on a one-off basis and only with the prior agreement of the list owner. 
Selections 
The ability to choose only the people on a list which match given criteria. The selection options are shown on the Datacard. 
Seed names 
Names that do not come from the original source but have been inserted by the list owner in order to monitor use of their data. 
List Broking 
We are able to offer advice on both Consumer and Business lists. With our in-depth knowledge of the list market, we can source any known lists available in the UK and Europe. Our close relationship with our American partners, also gives you instant accesss to specialist expertise on the US and Latin American markets. 
Minimum orders 
Although the terms of rental may vary between lists, the minimum order quantity normally available for rental in the UK is 5,000 names with a minimum order value of £500. This increases in the US where the minimums are normally 10,000 names and US$500. 
Managed Lists 
We also manage and promote lists on behalf of clients who use their databases to generate revenue. For more information about our list management service, please click Managed List Opportunities. 
Data Controller 
A person who (either alone or jointly or in common with other persons) determines the purposes for which and the manner in which any personal data are, or are to be, processed. 
Data Processor 
In relation to personal data, means any person (other than an employee of the data controller) who processes the data on behalf of the data controller. 
Processing 
In relation to information or data, means obtaining, recording or holding the information or data or carrying out any operation or set of operations on the information or data, including: 
 
(a) organisation, adaptation or alteration of the information or data, 
(b) retrieval, consultation or use of the information or data, 
(c) disclosure of the information or data by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, or 
(d) alignment, combination, blocking, erasure or destruction of the information or data 

The 8 Principles of Data Protection Outline the requirements of the legislation 

Personal data must be: 
Processed fairly and lawfully. 
 
Processed only for one or more specified and lawful purpose. 
 
Adequate, relevant and not excessive for those purposes. 
 
Accurate and kept up to date - data subjects have the right to have inaccurate personal data corrected or destroyed if the personal information is inaccurate to any matter of fact. 
Kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes it is being processed. 
 
Processed in line with the rights of individuals - this includes the right to be informed of all the information held about them, to prevent processing of their personal information for marketing purposes, and to compensation if they can prove they have been damaged by a data controller's non-compliance with the Act. 
Secured against accidental loss, destruction or damage and against unauthorised or unlawful processing - this applies to you even if your business uses a third party to process personal information on your behalf. 
 
Not transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area - the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein - that do not have adequate protection for individuals' personal information, unless a condition from Schedule four of the Act can be met. 
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