BtoB Magazine published a story today titled "It’s in the cards: Tip-top list data cards are more than just a formality". The story reflected on comments from a leading direct marketers from firms like Cisco Systems, Merkle, and two others. Here's what they had to say about the value of data cards and the importance of data card quality:
"The idea of a data card is really important in that it gives marketers a map of what their data source looks like and, as a result, what they can expect by using that data source,” said Theresa Kushner, director of customer intelligence at Cisco Systems. “That’s essential to a direct marketer.”.
"If a list isn’t represented well on the data card, or it’s not what we thought it is, we’re wasting our time; and I don’t have time to waste,” said Lisa Donnelly, senior director-content strategy with direct marketing agency Merkle Inc. “I need that card to be accurate, concise and make sense when I look at it the first time,” she said.
NextMark publishes the top list managers for data card quality report at the beginning of each quarter. This is just one measure of a list manager's commitment to providing exceptional service. Among many other things to consider are industry experience, secondary market knowledge, multi-channel marketing expertise, list rental forecasting capabilities, list price negotiations, and responsiveness to count requests.