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Data — Information in a file, including names and addresses,
demographic and psychographic information and any data that is stored
electronically in a raw form. Data capture — Extracting data needed to enhance or create
a list and storing it in magnetic form. Data card — A printed card that provides information on a
list, including cost per M and available selects. Data integrity — An estimation of undetected errors in a
data file. Data overlays — See Overlays. Database — A collection of data in an organized, searchable
matrix that allows database users to reorganize and extract the data in
multiple forms. Date of birth — A demographic variable available on many
mailing lists, created using overlays of driver's license information.
Date of compilation — An important date to ask for when ordering
a compiled list, along with the source of the compilation. The older the
list, the greater the probability of errors. Date stamp — The date of a response or order, used in list
response tracking and as source information in a customer database. Decoy — See Seed name. Deletions — Obsolete or incorrect information that is expunged
from a file. Deliverability — The percentage of addresses in a list which
will result in successfully delivered mail when sent standard or bulk
class. Deliverability guarantee — In compiled lists but usually
not response lists, a guarantee by the list owner to pay the postage of
undeliverable or "nixie" mails. Delivery date — The date that a list renter requires a list
to arrive at a mail shop. Demographics — Descriptive information about a household
that is used to target lists for direct marketing. Examples are age, income,
education level, gender and type of residence. Density — The number of mail addresses in a given geographic
area. Direct mail advertising — A method of advertising that targets
specific addresses. Direct Marketing Association — The chief national trade association
for direct marketers, with local affiliates in many cities. Direct response advertising — Any form of advertising that
is capable of creating a measurable response to a promotion. Directories — Often alphabetical listings of residents or
members, used for compiling lists. Discretionary income — The amount of earnings that is more
than 30% above the local cost of living plus taxes — The money targeted
by marketers. See Affluents. Disk — A term for any sort of data storage that is round.
Hard disks are made of metal and are encased inside the computer's hardware.
Floppy disks are flimsy magnetic material encased in plastic. Compact
disks are read by laser, like music CDs. Diskette — A form of magnetic data storage, once common in
5 1/4" size, now almost exclusively available in 3 1/2" size.
DM sold — Abbreviation for direct mail sold. Dollars — One of the selection factors for a direct-response
customer file. Can be measured as dollars per item, dollars per year,
etc. Donor list — People or companies who have made a donation
to a nonprofit or fundraising promotion. Download — Copying information to your computer's hard drive
from a source on a network, bbs or the internet. Driver's license — A source used by compilers of consumer
data to capture age data. Dual address — Mailing to both the ship-to address and the
bill-to address of a catalog response list. Dummy name — See Seed name. Dump — A printout that accompanies a data tape, showing the
first hundred records. Dupe — A record that has been identified as an exact copy of another record and has been deleted from a list. Dwelling type — Single family units and multi-family dwellings, the two types of housing on consumer lists. |