coronavirus — Blog Library

Covid 19 has brought many challenges including the need to work from home

Amongst the many challenges currently faced by American businesses as they come to terms with the shock Covid 19 has wrought on their working lives is that of targeting the American workforce at home. What initially started out as a temporary measure has for many now become the norm, with a number of US companies announcing that their workforce will stay at home until at least mid 2021. For businesses, particularly those in the B2B sector, the question arises: how do I target my contacts while they’re working from home?

Count on Your Trusted Data Provider for Advice

The answer comes down to the data you have at hand and, in particular, the data provider you’re working with. You want one who has the experience and the know-how to navigate you through these turbulent times. We’ve been asked for advice from own own clients and, as a data provider with over 25 years of experience, our response has been:

1. Don’t discount email marketing

Your contacts are working from home but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped working full stop! They’re still checking their emails and research has shown that email engagement has been trending upwards and unsubscribe rates downwards during the pandemic. If your email data isn’t up to scratch, we have over 40 million business contacts available that can be segmented as follows:

Company Size/ Number of Employees
Industry or SIC Code
Company Annual Revenue
Job Title
Geography
Women & Minority Owned Businesses

2. Go old-school with snail mail

Yes, it might seem like a blast from the past but direct mail is making a comeback. Seen as more personal than email, direct mail can be extremely effective for marketers looking to engage their audience. And just because your contacts aren’t in the office, doesn’t mean you can’t send them something to land on their doorstep. We can provide the postal data you need to run your next direct mail campaign.

3. Consider social campaigns

According to the New York Times, social media use has shot up since March. For example, there has been a 27% increase in the use of Facebook amongst Americans since the pandemic hit. Your audience could be sitting out there in their homes waiting to engage with your social ads. Lighthouse List has a wealth of phone data, email data & MAIDs, that can be matched to social users for advanced targeting. What’s more, our data can be segmented by interest and demographics to ensure you’re reaching the right prospect.

4. Run a targeted digital ad campaign

If social and email campaigns aren’t enough, there’s always the possibility of running a display or video ad campaign. We have over 750 million cookies that can be segmented to create your ideal custom audience for a hyper-targeted and effective display campaign, plus our CTV data is ideal for running video campaigns.

At Lighthouse List, we know that every company has its own specific data challenges and no one size fits all. Why not get in touch to discuss your needs and see how we can help? Contact us today to discuss your company’s strategy for targeting workers at home.

These are indeed unusual times. Schools are closing their doors, restaurants are stacking their chairs, and more Americans are opting to self-quarantine whether they feel ill or not. The Coronavirus is hitting hard and businesses are bracing for impact. Who knows exactly how big of a hit the U.S. economy will take but it's certain that over the next few months, marketers will need to find creative ways to do more with less.

One quick and easy approach is to pop the hood of your existing marketing campaigns to take a closer look at the data behind driving it. When it comes to digital marketing, data is one of the most important components of any campaign but it's also one of the most overlooked. Before launching your next campaign, consider these three approaches to finding and evaluating the right audience for your campaigns. Consider these three approaches to finding and evaluating quality audiences.

1) Stress-test your existing data providers.

Data quality in the digital ecosystem varies enormously from one data provider to another. For this reason, it's always important to get the facts about any data you choose to target your campaign. Ask your provider the questions below and see how your opinion of the data you're currently using changes. Or not!

What's the source of the data? Is it from public records or private? Is it compiled or aggregated? How often is it refreshed? Every provider will be different.
What action did the consumer take? Did they opt-in for special offers on the publisher's website? Did they purchase a specific product? Did they read similar content online? Knowing the actions consumers take to be included in the segment may help you predict whether they will engage with your message/offer.
Is the data known or inferred? For example, are these actual buyers of travel insurance (known) or just people who look like travel insurance buyers (inferred). Known data is always best, but inferred, which typically originates from a data model, can also be a considerable source for new prospects.

2) Ask the experts.

If your provider's sole business is data, chances are they are a wealth of information about best practices in audience targeting and would be more than happy to share their advice. At Lighthouse List, we maintain 3000+ segments alone, making it unrealistic for a media buyer to consider all options from all data providers. But, if you make it standard practice to ask your data provider which audience segments they recommend you use, you're much more likely to target a promising audience. Just paint a detailed picture for the data provider of your ideal audience and KPI goals.

3) Go custom.

Sometimes custom solutions are the best solutions. If you know exactly what you need in a target audience, ask your data provider to build you a custom audience. Data providers often manage multiple data sets in their portfolio. If given the opportunity, most would be happy to mix and match assets to prepare just the right audience for you. At Lighthouse List, we'll even reserve the audience for your exclusive use across digital and offline channels.