Acton International, Lincoln, NE, has put six lists from China on the market.
The lists, which contain 600,000 records, identify business managers and executives at their business addresses. Selections include: name, company name, job title, address and type of industry. The business people work in light industry, at government agencies or in other “general” businesses. The companies are in Shanghai, Beijing, Xiang and in other urban areas throughout China.
Opt-in e-mail addresses are being collected.
Business address is best even for consumer products promoted through direct mail because it is difficult to determine neighborhood demographics and guarantee delivery, but “business mail always gets delivered,” said Cheryl Ingerslew, director of list services at Acton. Typically, a catalog is passed among four or five people.
The files are in kanji characters. Acton can assist marketers in addressing mailing pieces, but kanji is more effective than English, Ingerslew said
Acton, which has been doing business in Asia for 10 years, has found that insurance and financial services offers get the most responses. Recently, auto and health insurance have started to perform well. Apparel and housewares catalogers also have had success. Catalogers may have to change some of their typical sizing, but, “it’s like going into any other market–you have to learn the market and see how your product fits in,” Ingerslew said. “The more research you do, the more successful you can be.”
Mailers can expect “slightly higher” response rates in China than they get in the U.S. “because [people there] don’t receive the same quantity of mail,” Ingerslew said. “The product is new and everything is unique, so they want to take advantage of it.”
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