The Influence of Influencers

In the world of database marketing, influencers -- those who influence a marketer's sales results without actually making purchases -- have an impact on a great deal of business. Their presence in the database can be problematic when calculating response rates. To solve the problem, it's best to subtract the influencers from the number of mailers sent before calculating the percent response. Say a marketer mails 1,500 direct mail pieces, including 500 to influencers. If the mailing generates 100 responses, the response rate is actually 100 of 1,000 - not 100 of 1,500.