Do you know what email appending is? This is a great way to expand your data base in order to set multi channels campaigns.
Indeed, some companies are still in a one channel system, where they for example send mails. However, they don't own the email addresses of their customers. In order to get them, they could process to an email appending.
Email appending definition
The idea is simple: you have a part of the data base, teh names and the addresses of your customers. In order to send them some emails, you are going to find a third party (specialized in data renting). You will provide them your data, they will merge them with theirs, and then check which one matches. When they recognize those, they will provide you the email and, for example, the cell phone numbers you were lacking.
The challenge: get your customer's agreement
Now there are best practices in order not to be intrusive. That is the reason why the opt-in system has been adopted by most of the e-commerce protagonists. Thus, this is important that once you get the information of your customers for data they did not give you, and moreover they did not agree for you to use it, you get their agreements. You should then the first time you get in contact with them with the new medium get a message asking them their agreement. That is very important for permissive marketing purposes.
My opinion about email appending
I think the idea is great. Now that marketing campaigns are all turning multi channels, this is important for a company to adapt its data base to its needs, and sometimes doing that by themselves might be difficult and long. By this simple easy step, which is actually not that expensive (depending on your data base size, but the cost per people is very low), you could then get new opportunities to interact with your customers, and probably increase your business.
This is a great way to enhance your customer experience by diversifying your media to get in contact with your clientele.
