Case Study: B-to-B Cataloger Enjoys 26 Percent Lift With New Co-op Database

During a presentation of his firm’s new B-to-B co-op database, LexBase, at last week’s Direct Marketing Association (DMA) 2007 Conference in Chicago, Edith Roman Associates President Stevan Roberts presented a case study involving a 20-year-old (unnamed) cataloger that mailed 10 million catalogs per year and was looking to mail companies with more than 250 employees.

“We took records from its file and matched them against our e-mail database,” Roberts explained. As a result, he claimed the cataloger increased orders by 26 percent within the first year.

The cataloger sought out LexBase, which has been operational but not fully rolled out to all B-to-B catalogers officially until last week, because it was looking for a single supplier to fill all its database services.

LexBase contains more than 75 million unduplicated postal names and 15 million e-mail names from more than 1,800 B-to-B mailing lists. Roberts wouldn’t specify exactly how many of these names and lists are actual B-to-B catalogers; however, he did say that a “significant amount of them, more than 50 percent” are catalogers.

Catalogers can sign up for a one-year licensing agreement with LexBase for unlimited use throughout the year, Roberts said, adding that he hopes “hundreds” of mailers will use it. So far, 420 list owners have contributed their e-mail databases, all of which are permission-based. The database is enhanced with parent firm infoUSA’s database with more than one billion source names to identify prospects.

With the consumer co-op database field now counting eight players, LexBase joins a growing B-to-B co-op database industry, along with MeritDirect and Abacus.