Key Takeaways

• The target audience between the two lists is different.
• Business mailing lists are typically a bit more expensive.
• Consumer lists typically have a higher overall count.

Introduction

While having a strong mail piece as the center of your campaign is pivotal to success, so can choosing your direct audience. A mailer can have the most impressive mail piece and best offer, but if the incorrect people get the mail piece, then the campaign will be a failure. Mailing lists are typically broken into two categories – consumer mailing lists, and business mailing lists. Knowing who and what falls into either category can increase your chances of having an engaged audience, saving costs, and a successful campaign.

Consumer and business mailing lists exist because these two audiences are very different. A company that is trying to advertise a new business opportunity at a conference that they’re hosting is not going to advertise to the same group of people that would be interested in sports memorabilia.  If you’re interested in learning more about different types of mailing list categories, check out Geon’s page about mailing list categories.

What are the Differences Between the Two Types of Lists?

At the core of the concept, the two lists appeal to their respective targets. Business mailing lists are going to appeal to a more professional demographic – investing, finance, real estate, and business opportunities are all topics that you can expect to find in business mailing lists. Audiences that you would find in business mailing lists include those that would be interested in payroll services, commercial insurance, and office equipment.

Consumer mailing lists, on the other hand, are going to appeal more to a consumer target audience, with overall categories of mailing lists such as sports, family, travel, and leisure. Some of the mailing lists that you might expect to find include sporting spectators, as seen on TV product buyers, collectors of a specific item, and individuals who enjoy living luxury lifestyles.

Are There any Other Big Differences Between the Two Categories?

One of the other big differences between consumer and business mailing lists are the prices. Typically, business mailing lists are going to be on the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to how much each name costs on a mailing list when compared to consumers mailing lists. On average, consumer mailing lists often range anywhere from two cents a name to about nine or ten cents per name, whereas business mailing lists start at around eight cents per name, and will go up to about twenty cents per name, with some premium lists costing more than that.

Another difference between the two categories is the number of names that are present in the mailing lists. Consumer mailing lists often contain hundreds of thousands of names to even millions, whereas business mailing lists are often significantly smaller. The reason that this is, is due to the business categories appealing to a much more niche audience. For this reason, it makes sense that the business lists are going to be smaller in terms of number of individuals in the list.

FAQ

• Q: Are individual people going to be on both business mailing lists and consumer mailing lists?
  • A: Yes, most individuals are going to be on both types of mailing lists. The same person that enjoys budget travel might also be interested in stocks and bond investments, so they would be on both types of lists.
• Q: Could a mailing list contain both business and consumer data?
  • A: Yes, while you are able to get a list that has both types of data, it typically would be much more expensive and would be more practical to get a list containing one or the other.  
• Q: I’m unsure if I should be using business mailing list or a consumer mailing list for my mailing campaign.
  • A: No worries, Geon can help you! Contact us here, and we would love to work with you.

Conclusion

While there are many ways to maximize the performance of your mailing campaign, making sure the correct audience gets the mail piece is arguably the most important. Choosing between a consumer mailing list and a business mailing list begins with finding and understanding your ideal customer. Once this has been identified, and you’ve figured out your ideal customer, selecting the appropriate type of mailing list becomes much easier.