ACD Automatic Call Distributor - A complex machine used in modern call centers for incoming calls. It routes calls to available agents, holds overflow calls, gives and takes messages, provides reports. A must for modern database marketing.
AIS - Address Information System - Products offered by the USPS to assist mailers in finding correct zip codes and other current addressing information.
ANI - Automatic Number Identification. A system whereby you can learn the number of a person who is calling you on the telephone. Can be linked to a database to find the person's name and address.
APO - Army Post Office - The military post office address code for addresses located outside the continental United States for either Army or Air Force personnel.
ASCII - American Standard format for data storage on magnetic media (tape or disk).
ASS - Address Sequencing Service - Service offered by the USPS to sequence your mailing list when you provide a 3x5 index card for each address.
Abandonment - As in the phrase "call abandonment". This refers to people who, being placed on hold in an incoming call, elect to hang up ("abandon") the call. Call centers monitor closely the "abandonment rate" as a measure of their inefficiency.
Acquisition Cost - The cost of signing up a new customer. Lifetime Value is often used to compute the maximum allowable acquisition cost.
Actives - A mailing list of those names who have made a purchase recently.
Additions - In a mailing list, those names recently added in a list update.
Address - A computer term for the location on a disk or in memory of a piece of information. Addresses help the computer to find things rapidly, and to store them for later retrieval.
Address List - A digital list of addresses utilized for mailing. The list may be in a wide variety of formats such as those used in Spreadsheets, Databases, Word Processors, and Personal Information Managers.
Affinity - People who are similar in lifestyle.
Affinity Analysis - A process of finding relationships between customer purchases. People who buy skis buy snow tires.
Affinity Group - A demographic or psychographic classification that identifies a record or list source.
Affluents - That segment of a market with disposable income, figured on a formula of the local cost of living and the cost of taxes, plus 30%.
Agreement letter - A letter of usage terms that the mailer signs to signal acceptance of guidelines established by the list owner.
Alternate Delivery - Methods of delivering direct mail or sample products to households without using the United States Postal Service.
Alternate Media - Any means of reaching consumers other than by using solo direct mail and telemarketing including: cooperative mailings, card decks, package inserts and free-standing inserts, home-shopping programs, computer online services and broadcast.
Annual lease - An agreement that gives a mailer unlimited use of a set of records for one year, usually at a charge of twice the one-time-use fee per thousand.
Alumni List- A university or college's graduates which, as a list, is useful for educational fundraising.
Appended Data - process whereby a customer file has data appended to it (such as age, income, and home value) from some external data file.
Assigned mailing date - A date set by the list owner to protect the list from simultaneous usages.
Attendees - A type of list, or segment, made up of individuals who represent an interest by having attended a gathering.
Attention line - In business addresses, a prefix to a three-line address that contains the receiver's name.
Attribute - Any distinguishing feature used to describe a file, such as demographic information, size or date of last update.
Attrition Model - A model that predicts which customers are most likely to leave. Usually expressed as a percentage of likelihood.
Attrition Rate - The opposite of retention rate. The percentage of customers this year who are no longer buying next year.
Availability report - A list of classifications for records in certain ZIP code areas, produced to target selected neighborhoods.
Autosexing - A computer process for finding the sex and appending titles (Mr. Ms.) to a file of names.
BMC - Bulk Mail Center - A USPS regional center for processing Standard (A), Standard (B), and Periodical bulk mailings. BMC's are highly automated and are the key element in the distribution chain for bulk mail.
BRC - Business Reply Card. Typically a postcard that prospect sends back to mailer indicating interest.
BRE - Business Reply Envelope. Envelope prospect can use to respond to an offer.
BRM - Business Reply Mail - Reply mail that uses a Business Reply Permit to return mail at no charge to the addressee. Widely used for surveys, product registration cards, and inquiry requests as examples. Reply mail has very specific layout requirements that normally require pre-approval by the USPS.
Baby boomers - Those born between 1946 and 1964, when birth rates rose sharply, and now a popular target group for marketers.
Back end - As in phrase "back end analysis" refers to the results of actions with people who have responded to your initial offer.
Bank cards - A consumer list attribute that selects users of credit cards.
Bar Code - The nine-digit ZIP code translated into a coding structure of vertical bars and half bars used in order to speed the sorting of mail and enabling mailers to take a discount on postage.
Barcode Clear Zone - A rectangular area in the lower right part of a letter size mail piece that must be kept free of printing and symbols, except the barcode itself.
Base Cost - basic cost per name for address lists excluding any demographic selections. Normally stated in dollars per thousand records (names/addresses). Multi-use lists are charged at double the base cost. Charges for demographic selections do not double for multi-use lists.
Base price - In lists, the amount paid before segment selects, processing charges and shipping costs have been added on. This is usually expressed on a per thousand basis.
Batching - The gathering and organizing of incoming orders.
Batch mode - If you have received 10,000 replies to a mailing, you can update your master file with these replies in one batch. This is the fastest and cheapest way to update records. The opposite is On-Line updating.
Behavioral lists - Consumer lists that offer selection criteria on the basis of leisure activities, often compiled from questionnaires.
Bill-me order - A method of payment allowing a person to examine a product before making a commitment. This type of list is usually less responsive to outside mailers than one in which payment was made up front.
Bill-to address - The address that receives the bill, as opposed to the address that receives the shipment.
Birth dates - A selectable feature on consumer lists, often shortened to edob for "exact date of birth."
Bits - If a byte is like an atom in computer language, a bit is like an electron. A bit is either on or off. It is either a 1 or a zero. Eight bits make up one byte.
Block - The smallest reported unit in the 1990 U.S. Census. About 14 households in a block.
Block group - The smallest reported unit in the 1980 U. S. Census. About 340 households on average.
Block group or subblock - A demographic area defined by the U.S. Census, consisting of a few hundred households.
Bounce back - The practice of sending another identical (or similar) catalog back to someone who has just ordered something from one of your catalogs.
Brand Managers - Most packaged goods companies organize themselves by brand. The brand manager is responsible for advertising, marketing and sales of the product. The brand manager is typically the main obstacle to database marketing that is customer focused rather than product focused.
Brokerage commission - A percentage of a list's rental cost that the list owner pays to the list manager broker for arranging the marketing. Commissions are frequently negotiable, but are often set at 20%.
Bugs - Errors that crop up in software because programmers are not able to predict all the possible ways that the code in their programs will be used in the processing of data.
Business list - A list of businesses as opposed to consumers typically selected by SIC codes, employee size, and or annual sales volume.
Business overlays - Demographic data that is added to an existing business customer file, such as job classification, number of employees key contact person or telephone number.
Business universe - The complete list of all businesses in a given geographic area.
Buyer - A person or group that has purchased a product or service. In mailing lists, a selection that indicates the segment of a list that has purchased products by mail.
(CASS) Coding Accuracy Support System - Created by the U.S. Postal Service to ensure the accuracy of software programs used by service bureaus to check addresses and codes mailings for delivery.
CFO - Chief financial officer. The man in charge of budgets.
CIF - Customer Information File used by banks and financial institutions. Takes into account many
different account factors such as car, boat, airplane loans etc in the household record and used for marketing purposes.
COD - Collect On Delivery - A service offered by the USPS, and other shippers, where an item is shipped and payment for the item is collected upon delivery and returned to the shipper.
CPI - Cost per inquiry
CPO - Cost per order. How much was the total marketing cost to obtain an order.
CRRT - Carrier Route - A mail delivery route defined for an USPS postal carrier. Reduced postage rates can be obtained mailers who sort their mail by carrier route and thereby save the post office processing time.
Call Center - A company site that houses an outbound or inbound telemarketing operation.
Cancellation charge - The amount of money a list owner requires a mailer to pay if an order is canceled.
Car owner - In a consumer marketing lists it is a way of targeting consumers via car registration data, including number of cars owned, make model value range and age of currently owned cars.
Card Deck - A cooperative pack of postcards, typically mailed out in a clear outer pouch, which is used in both consumer and business-to-business direct marketing. The postcard, which either orders the product or asks for more information, can be mailed back to the individual advertiser.
Cash buyer - A purchaser who sends payment with order. This is a degree of commitment that makes such individuals ideal prospects for many types of mailers.
Catalog - The direct-mail component of a retail organization.
Catalog buyer - A purchaser who bought from a catalog.
CD-ROM - A small, thin disc identical to a music CD, containing data in a read-only format, meaning the user can not save changes to the disc.
Census tract - A segment of a ZIP code consisting of about 1,000 households, designated by the U.S. Census.
Change of address - A recent mover, often used as a means of compiling names or as a selection within a list.
Change Service Requested - An additional service offered by the USPS. A separate notice of new address or reason for non-delivery is returned to the sender; and the USPS disposes of the mail piece. A fee of 50¢ is charged per piece.
Cheshire or cheshire label - Mailing labels on a paper printout which are affixed by machine with adhesives, as opposed to pressure-sensitive or sticky labels that are affixed by hand. A type of plain paper label used in mailing. The most common computer label. Requires a Cheshire machine to affix
to mailing material.
Churning - The practice of customers switching to another supplier based on special discount offers. Particularly used in the cellular telephone or credit card industries.
Cleaning Names - A process whereby names and addresses on a customer or prospect list are corrected (addresses standardized; zips corrected; spelling and punctuation corrected, duplicates removed, phone numbers are appended, and run through the FTC "do Not Call" process.
Cluster - A way of dividing all households in the country into about sixty different types usually called lifestyle groups. Useful for file segmentation.
Commercial Database Management - Management of large compiled databases for list rental.
Commingle - A process where different kinds of mail are mixed together and sorted by destination address in order to generate savings in postage.
Computation Period - The number of years projected as the customer lifetime value. The period is
shortest for products that soon becomes obsolete, and longer for subscription type services.
Computer Service Bureaus - A company that will maintain lists for list owners. This service includes updating the list, merge/purge, overlaying the data to prepare the list for rental.
Confidentiality Agreement - An agreement which precedes any contract with an outsourcing agency.
It assures that your proprietary secrets will not be revealed to other parties.
Continuation - A mailing following a successful test of a portion of a list. A continuation becomes a "rollout" when the entire list is mailed.
Continuity Program - Products or services bought as a series of small purchases, rather than all at one time. Book of the Month Club, or other products shipped on a regular schedule.
Control Group Every - database promotion should include a control group of customers who are not exposed to the promotion. The success of the promotion is measured by the difference in response of the promoted group compared to the control group (after subtracting the cost of the promotion).
Conversion rate - The percentage of responders who become customers.
Coop mailing - A mailing in which two or more offers -- usually from different companies -- are included in the same envelope, and share the costs.
Cooperative Advertising (Co-Op) - Advertising (including direct mail, inserts, stuffers, card decks) where offers from several different mailers are included.
Cooperative Broker - A person/company who recommends and takes orders for marketers who want to be part of a cooperative effort.
Cooperative Manager - A person/company who sells space in the co-op for the cooperative owner.
Cooperative Owner - A company that brings different marketers together into a co-op effort. Services may include printing the individual inserts, combining them and mailing them to preselected lists.
Copy - The text of your direct mail piece.
Coupons - A promotional device used by marketers to increase sales by offering a discount when the coupon is redeemed.
Cross-Selling - Encouraging customers to buy products from other departments or categories.
Custom report - A database report designed by the marketing staff that exactly meets the marketing needs of the company. Once programmed, it can be run daily or weekly for very little cost.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - Providing better communication, offers and services to customers by evaluating your previous interactions with them.
DMA Direct Marketing Association - The national trade association for direct marketers, with local affiliates in many major cities.
DMA MPS - Mail preference service - A program provided by the Direct Marketing Association that allows consumers to request that their address be removed from all DMA mailing lists.
DMA TPS - Telephone Preference Service (DMA TPS): A service of the Direct Marketing Association for consumers who want to have their names removed from telemarketing lists.
DPBC - Delivery Point Barcode - A POSTNET barcode that consists of 62 bars with beginning and ending frame bars and 5 bars each for the nine digits of the ZIP +4 code, the last 2 digits of the primary street address number (or post office box, etc.), and a correction digit. The DPBC allows automated sortation of mail to the carrier level in walk sequence.
DSCF - Destination Sectional Center Facility - A rate available for Standard Mail (A) and Periodicals that is properly prepared and entered by the mailer at the sectional center facility (SCF) that serves the delivery address on the mail.
Data Enhancement - A process whereby a customer file has data appended to it (such as age, income, and home value) from some external data file.
Data integrity - An estimation of undetected errors in a data file.
Data overlay -The matching of two or more lists that contain the same names or addresses but where one list adds additional data such as demographics or geographics to the other. Using a list that is rich in data to augment information in another list with the same names. Overlays can add phone numbers, job titles or demographic or psychographic information.
Database - A collection of data in an organized, searchable matrix that allows database users to reorganize and extract the data in multiple forms. A file that is maintained on a computer comprised of pertinent information such as a company's prospects or customers. The file can serve multiple applications and be manipulated for various purposes.
Database Marketing Collecting - data on customers and using it to provide recognition and services to customers, resulting in increased customer loyalty and repeat sales.
Decoy - A unique name added to a mailing list used to spot unauthorized use of the list. See Seed name. Seed name or Seeding False or "dummy" names are added to a mailing list as a way to check delivery and to uncover any unauthorized list usage.
De Dupe - Identifying and consolidating duplicate names usually done in a merge/purge operation.
Deletions - Obsolete or incorrect information that is expunged from a file.
Deliverability - The percentage of addresses in a list that will result in successfully delivered mail when sent standard or bulk class.
Demographics - Demographic data usually refers to the data which the Census Bureau or Canada Stats collects on a neighborhood such as income, education level, etc. This data can be appended to a household record. It isn't necessarily accurate for any particular household since it is the average for households in that block. But it is usually the only data available. Social and economic information about human populations including age, sex, income, education, type of residence, ownership of cars, etc.
Demographic Selections - Descriptive information about a household that is used to target lists for direct marketing. A range of selectors available to use when specifying an address list. Demographic selectors may include age, income, gender, and special interests such a mail order buyers, credit card holders, etc.
Density - The number of mail addresses in a given geographic area.
Direct Mail - Another name for advertising mail sent to targeted prospects or markets. Direct mail can be sent via any postage rate but is usually sent Standard (A).
Direct Marketing Association - The chief national trade association for direct marketers, with local affiliates in many cities.
Discretionary income - That segment of a market with disposable income, figured on a formula of the local cost of living and the cost of taxes, plus 30%.
Donor list - People or companies who have made a donation to a nonprofit or fundraising promotion.
Dual address - Mailing to both the ship-to address and the bill-to address of a catalog response list.
Dummy name - False or "dummy" names are added to a mailing list as a way to check delivery and to uncover any unauthorized list usage. Sometimes called a "seed".
Duplicate - The same name occurring twice or more on the same file. All very large databases contain duplicates because name or address spelling may vary slightly. Good service bureaus can reduce but never totally eliminate duplicates.
Dwelling type - Single family units and multi-family dwellings, the two types of housing on consumer lists.
ECRLOT - Enhanced Carrier Route (Line of Travel) Mailings in which pieces must be part of a group of 10 or more to one carrier route, prepared in line of travel sequence. The mailing list must be CASS certified within the past 3 months and pre-sorted with PAVE certified software. LOT mail is sorted in the order in which the carrier actually delivers the mail.
Enhanced Carrier Route - A rate class for Standard (A) mail that requires the mail pieces to be pre-sorted by Line-of-Travel, High Density, or Walk Sequence. Usually provides the grea
Enhancement - Appending demographic or lifestyle data to a list.
Ethnic lists - Lists sorted by surname into supposed ethnic groups.
FCM - First-Class Mail A class of mail that includes all matter wholly or partly in writing or typewriting, all actual and personal correspondence, all bills and statements of account, and all matter sealed or otherwise closed against inspection.
FTP - File transfer protocol: a means of downloading and uploading files between two different computers on the internet.
Family - In a consumer file, those households that are composed of family groups, usually with children.
Field - In a database, the text entry area for any sort of information. Fields have fixed or variable lengths, and any record in a database will have consistent field structure.
Field length - The number of characters allowed for any field in a database.
File - A collection of information, text, image or both, saved with a name that will allow it to be reopened by a computer program.
File layout - In a database, the number, name and length of data fields used to store information for each record. Fixed-field layouts have consistent character lengths for each field, while variable-length layouts use the actual number of characters that are entered.
FIM - Facing Identification Mark A series of five or six vertical bars used by automated postal equipment to identify, orient, and separate business reply mail. FIM's are required in a precise location the upper right corner of business reply mail. See the USPS "Notice 67" template for the exact layout requirements.
First-time buyer - A customer on a list who has made only one purchase. Marketing plans focus on generating first-time buyers, while customer retention programs focus on converting first-time buyers to regular customers.
Five-digit ZIP code - A numeric code that designates the specific post office that serves the mail recipient. Mail that is sorted by ZIP code in advance qualifies for postal discounts.
Flat rate - In lists, a price that is set for use of the total number of names available, often used for lists with too small a quantity for per thousand list rentals.
Focus group - A group of customers who are assembled together by an advertising agency in a conference room to discuss a particular product. Useful for learning what the public thinks of your product or message or company.
Format - The predetermined arrangement of data or elements, whether in a database or for a direct mail package. The way data (name and address) is organized on a disk or tape. There is no standard format. Every company has their own.
Fulfillment - The process of responding to a customer request with literature or product. Fulfillment usually outsourced to a fulfillment house. All activities involved in the processing and servicing of mail, fax and telephone orders. Examples:
Literature Fulfillment refers to the sorting and qualifying of leads, sending the appropriate information, and, if outsourced, forwarding leads to the marketer for follow-up.
Subscription Fulfillment is a specialized service for periodical publishers. Services include maintaining the subscriber list, generating invoices and renewals and recording payments.
Product Fulfillment is the storage and shipping of samples and merchandise.
Fund-raising lists - Lists of proven and prospective donors to fund-raising causes.
Gender select - The identifiable male or female portions of a list that can be separated out from the total. Selecting by gender enables a mailer whose promotion appeals to one sex to improve rates of response to a mailing.
Geographic selects - In lists, choosing a group of names based on regions. Selecting State, SCF, ZIP code or other computer fields of information to narrow down to a specific area could do this.
Gift buyer - A type of list, or segment, made up of people who bought gifts for others. Certain lists consist of both those who have paid for and those who received a product.
Home buyer - Those who have recently purchased homes, usually separated on consumer lists from long-term home owners.
Inactive buyers - The portion of a list which has not shown any purchasing activity for a set period of time.
Income - A demographic selection factor on consumer lists, selectable in $1,000 increments.
Indicia - Imprinted designation on mail that denotes postage payment. The indicia must contain the Class of postage (i.e. First Class, Presorted Std), the words US Postage, & Paid, the post office city where the permit is held, and the number of the permit. The indicia should be placed where a stamp would normally be placed. See Permit.
Ink Jet Printing - Superheated dots of ink are sprayed from an ink reservoir on the printhead to form full characters.
Inquiry - A request for a sample, catalog or more information.
Installment buyers - Purchasers who split the total price of a product up and divide it evenly over periodic payments, usually monthly.
Influentials - In business-to-business, executives who have the authority to make or influence a purchase.
Junk Mail - Derogatory term for direct mail advertising.
Key code - A code that appears on response cards to identify the mailing when responses are mailed back, in order to track and analyze the effectiveness of the mailing.
Labels - Paper printed with a name and address that is affixed to a mailing piece and serves as the mailing address vehicle. Different types of labels include: peel-off or pressure-sensitive labels gummed labels and paper (or Cheshire) labels.
Layout - A sketch of a proposed piece, the first step in the design process.
Lead - A prospect that has responded is called a Lead.
Lead Conversion Rate - The percentage of leads which become customers.
Lead generation - A method of getting responder names without getting a payment, such as by sending away for a free gift, or calling an 800 number. A mailer who uses a lead generation package will often be required to pay a surcharge.
Length of residence - A selection feature on many lists compiled from vehicle registration or telephone directory data.
Lettershop - An independent company that handles all the details of printing and mailing letters. A company that will assemble and insert the various printed elements of a direct mail piece, label, sort, tag and deliver the mailings to the post office for mailing. The lettershop will provide the mailer with written proof of delivery to the U.S. Postal Service.
Lifestyle - data about a neighborhood comes from clustering. If a significant number of people in a given cluster have taken a foreign trip, it is assumed that all similar households have done this. It is a lifestyle attribute. Included are magazines read, TV programs watched, etc.
Lifestyle selectivity - Lists based on surveys that offer information on consumer's interests and hobbies, to ensure well-targeted mailings.
Lifetime value - The contribution to overhead and profit made by a customer during her total relationship with your company. Abbreviation: LTV.
List Broker - A go-between who matches list owners and list renters for a commission paid by the list owner. A list specialist hired by a mailer to make the necessary arrangements to use other companies' lists. Brokerage services usually include research, list selections, recommendations and logistics so that the rented lists arrive at the proper time.
List Manager - Whereas a list broker works for a mailer, the list manager works for the list owner. The primary function is to promote the list to mailers and list brokers for list rental. List managers can be either an internal employee of the list owner, or part of an outside list management company paid a commission by the list owner. Management services usually include marketing of the list, coordinating and controlling rental activity and accounting. The standard commission for a list manager is 10 percent.
List rental - The process of renting (for one time use, or other periods) a list of names of customers owned by some other organization for an agreed upon cost per thousand.
List segment - A group within a list that can be more responsive for a mailer than the entire list.
List source - How names were generated that were put on a mailing list. This could be from direct mail, TV ads, space ads or any other media. When mailing to lists of responders to the same product, the source of a list can influence returns.
Mail date - The target date for a mailing to deliver to the post office, from which mailers backtrack to determine other production dates, such as printing and copy and art approval.
Mailing list - The names and addresses of individuals, businesses or other institutions that have common characteristics making them suitable targets for specific promotions. A list of customers or prospects used to mail catalogs or sale announcements. It is not a marketing database because it does not provide for a two-way communication with customers.
Mail order - A mail-generated sale of a product or service.
Mail piece - All the components of a mailing. Also called mail package.
Mail preference service - A program provided the Direct Marketing Association that allows consumers to request that remove their address from all DMA mailing lists.
Mail shop - An independent company that specializes in preparing materials for mailing. They affix labels, sort for bulk rates, prepare bagtags, and insert in postal bags.
Market - A set of potential buyers for a product.
Market Penetration - The percentage of buyers you have as compared with the total households or businesses in the area you have selected as you're market. The ratio of the potential buyers reached by a mailing to the total number of potential buyers in an area.
Market Research - Statistical analysis of customer data to draw overall conclusions as a basis for action.
Mass Marketing - Selling to everyone through mass media such as radio, TV, or a newspaper, as opposed to database marketing which is aimed at a small selected audience.
Masterfile - The total house list of an organization, which is split into numerous segments for in-house mailing or rental to outside mailers.
Merge - To combine two or more lists into a single list and sort them together, generally by ZIP code.
Merge/purge - A software system used to merge many different input tapes in differing formats and put them into a common format for a mailing. Merge/Purge detects duplicates. The process of combining separate address lists and removing duplicate records, also known as de-duping.
Minimum - A price for low list quantities on lists that are usually sold per thousand names.
Modeling - A statistical technique whereby you determine which pieces of data in your customer database explains the behavior of your customers. The output of a model is a series of weights which can be multiplied by customer data (income, age, length of residence) to create a score which predicts likelihood to respond to an offer.
Multi-buyer - A person who crops up on two or more independent rented lists. Multi-buyers usually respond better to a direct offer than other buyers.
Multifamily - More than one Dwelling unit in a single building.
Multiple buyers - Customers who have purchased from one company more than once, usually a select offered on a mailing list.
Multiple dwelling - A housing unit that requires an apartment number because of the number of families that live at one address.
Name - An individual entry on a mailing list.
Name removal - The suppression of names using the DMA's mail preference service list of consumers that prefer not to receive mail offers.
NCOA - National change of address- a file maintained by the U.S. Postal Service with new addresses of those who have recently moved and notified the post office of their new address. Commercial vendors who are licensed by the U.S. Postal Service can match a mailing list against this file to update old lists.
Negative option - An agreement participants of continuity plans make that obligates payment unless they inform the company they do not want the product shipped. See Continuity buyer.
Net names - The quantity of names on a list that survive a merge-purge, or an agreement between a mailer and list owner to pay only for those names in a list rental.
New households - Lists of people who have recently moved, using information from utility hook-ups, change of address forms and county records.
New movers - Consumers who have recently moved to a new address. These consumers spend on a wide variety of consumer products and services as they establish themselves in the new community.
New to file - Recent additions to a file. These names are often the most responsive segment of a list.
Nine-digit ZIP code - Normal 5 digit Zip Code Plus the Zip 4 Example: 90020-3248
Nixie - A piece of undeliverable mail that's returned by the post office. Depending on the quality of the lists, mailings can result in hundreds or thousands of nixies. Some list rental agreements include a refund for nixie quantities.
Noncompetitive offer - When mailing content does not resemble that of the list owner's. Certain categories of user's will be given a discount from the normal list rental rate such as when a non-profit group mails a business list. See Competitive offer.
Nonprofit - Organizations that qualify to mail at the reduced nonprofit rate offered by the U.S. Postal Service.
Nth - A way of randomizing names in a large list to get the desired quantity. Rather than taking the first thousand names, a computer program takes every nth name until they achieve the desired quantity.
Occupant - A name designation used for saturation mailings, to ensure that a piece of mail gets to a certain address no matter who lives there.
Occupant lists - Consumer lists which contain addresses and no names, for use in occupant mailings.
One-time use - An agreement between a list owner and a mailer that a mailing list will be used only once, unless otherwise specified.
One-year contract - An unlimited use agreement on a certain list over a set period of time.
Opt-in - When a consumer chooses to receive messages on a certain topic.
Opt-out - When a consumer requests not to receive messages.
Opt-in register - When owners of an e-mail site agree to receive messages covering certain topics.
Output - The form of data that the data is delivered to the client: CD, Email, Floppy Disk, Labels, etc.
Overlays - Using a list that is rich in data to augment information in another list with the same names. Overlays can add phone numbers, job titles or demographic or psychographic information.
Owners - Any company that owns the list of its subscribers, customer base, or membership, and can define the terms of renting the list to other mailers.
Outsourcing - Using an outside service rather than performing the work in-house. May involve an offshore transaction with a company in a foreign nation. A good example would be call centers in India
where English is spoken and wages are lower than in the USA.
Package Inserts - Any promotional offer included with the shipment of a customer's order. Offers may be from the same mailer shipping the product or other vendors who pay to be included.
Personalization - Using/printing personal information, such as a first or last name, in a direct mail campaign.
Postage-Paid Reply Service - A service allowing mailers to use a lettershop's postage-paid permit and have the business-reply mail sent there instead of opening their own account with the USPS.
Premium - A free gift offered to a prospect to induce a greater response to the main product or service that is being sold. A premium need not bear any relationship to the product being offered.
Pressure Sensitive Labels - These adhesive-backed, press-on labels that are mounted four across on wax-type paper and generally affixed manually. (Peel & Stick)
Response Booster - Any device, token, premium or sweepstakes that will help raise the response rate.
Seeding - Records placed in file to establish who is using what list and how often.
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code - Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes are four digit numerical codes assigned by the U.S. government to business establishments to identify the primary business of the establishment. The classification was developed to facilitate the collection, presentation, and analysis of data; and to promote uniformity and comparability in the presentation of statistical data collected by various agencies of the federal government, state agencies, and private organizations. The classification covers all economic activities: agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, and trapping; mining; construction; manufacturing; transportation; communications, electric, gas, and sanitary services; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; personal, business, professional, repair, recreation, and other services; and public administration.
Sorting - The computerized process of reorganizing a list from one sequence to another. For example, a file can be sorted by last name, company name, ZIP code, high donors, multi-buyers, recent buyers, etc.
Telemarketing Services -
Outbound - Any phone calls made out of a telemarketing call center.
Inbound - Any phone calls that come into a telemarketing call center.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) -The various recorded or digitized text messages that can be accessed electronically by using a telephone.
Predictive Dialing - The automatic dialing by a computer of telephone numbers on a preselected list. The system can, with great accuracy, discern an answering machine from a human voice and will instantly connect a respondent to a TSR. If there is no answer or a busy signal, the computer will know to redial later.
Telephone Service Representative (TSR) - Anyone who sells, or services customers over the phone either inbound or outbound.
Telephone Preference Service (DMA TPS) - A service of the Direct Marketing Association for consumers who want to have their names removed from telemarketing lists.
