Considering Strategy

There is more to merge purge than simply deleting duplicate names. Working with a full-service firm like Cornerstone, sophisticated marketers can amplify the strategic benefit of this powerful tool. The merge purge process sets creative and list strategies in motion. And, it's where complex tools ensure that you are minimizing your postal costs. Getting the most out of this strategic tool involves the careful construction of your panel matrix, filling out the necessary forms correctly, and understanding the difference between business and consumer lists.

The Panel Matrix

It is with the panel matrix that sophisticated marketers begin to realize all the benefits of merge purge. This is where a mailing campaign is designed, creating a blueprint of the entire process.

After all duplicates and suppressions have been deleted, records get allotted into coded panels. These codes correspond to which lists are being mailed and/or what creative is being delivered. Done properly, it lets you carefully measure the success of variations and make intelligent, statistically based decisions about which lists perform and which creative packages are most successful.

Business versus Consumer

Because a business mailing has a different set of objectives than a consumer mailing, your merge instructions will also be different.

For a business mailing, for example, you might specify a search for specific titles, functions or industry codes. And, while a consumer merge purge normally specifies only one mailing per address, a business campaign might specify two, three or even an unlimited number per address.

Forms and Instructions

There is more potential for mistakes at the merge purge stage than at any other time in a direct marketing campaign. Plus, every mailing has different objectives.

That is why Cornerstone has created detailed forms that help you clearly communicate your merge purge instructions. Our user-friendly forms are designed to do double duty: they function as a checklist of critical items and they serve as a way to stimulate new ideas.

If you are ever in doubt about how to complete a form, our merge purge experts stand ready to help.


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