Strategy: The Importance of Source Code Tracking and Matchbacks

Source codes help identify:
• which housefile segments to mail;
• which prospect lists to use;
• which lists to eliminate; and
• the “best” promo offer to make, among others.

A cataloger can’t remain in business very long without using them.

As catalogers, do everything possible to capture source codes. Some catalogers feel it’s not as important to capture source codes on the front-end because they’ll be identified when the matchback is done. While this hopefully is true, matchbacks aren’t perfect. What’s more, they cost money and are done infrequently. By not capturing source codes on the front-end, it becomes more difficult to know how prospect lists and/or segments of the housefile are performing on a daily or weekly basis.