If Mail Makes You Mad—Navigating Do Not Mail Callers
It’s that time of year again—the time when you’re fielding angry calls from acquisition names who want to be added to your do not mail list. We know these calls are far from your favorite, but never fear! We have some tips for you that can help make this season a little less stressful.
First, know as horrible as these calls may be, they mean your appeals are landing in homes, which is a good thing! Second, for every mean or angry caller you get, you’re also acquiring new donors for your Mission, and that in and of itself makes acquisition worth it!
However, knowing it’s worth it doesn’t make fielding these calls any easier, so here are some tips that might!
How are Donor Names Acquired?
The first thing an angry donor might demand to know is how you acquired their name and address.
For a potential donor’s name to be in your acquisition stream for mailing, their name has to be on public record somewhere (perhaps on a house or car loan) or they are a patron to another organization who sells or exchanges donor or customer names.
These names are purchased by your marketing organization on your behalf. They are geotargeted to your area and matched against variables (such as giving history to other charities) that made them a good match for your ministry.
The suppression process
Once bought, these names and addresses are run against several different lists such as the National Change of Address list (NCOA), which captures information on address changes, the Deceased Registry, and the Direct Marketing Association’s No Pander File, which is a list of people who cannot be solicited. Additionally, these acquisition lists are run against various other checks to remove duplicate addresses and donors.
But, this process is not perfect.
For example, the NCOA list only handles moves for the past four years that were reported by the resident. So, this does not include people who do not tell the post office of their move.
Additionally, the deceased registry service uses a compilation of data from social security and other sources, but if a deceased person’s name is still part of an active donor list or on a public record, there is a chance they will not be suppressed.
What to do when a donor calls about a deceased name:
One of the most difficult calls to field is one from a distraught loved one who received a mailing for a deceased relative. These calls must be handled with extra care, as their anger is often rooted in emotional pain from losing someone they love.
First, thank them for calling and ask for the deceased relative’s name and address. To remove them from your acquisition you will need both of these.
Second, help them to remove their relative permanently from mailing lists. A great resource to provide them with is the Deceased Do Not Contact List created by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
For no cost, they can register their relative’s name, address, phone number and email to be removed from all solicitations. This form can be filled out here: https://www.ims-dm.com/cgi/ddnc.php
This deceased Do Not Mail file is updated monthly and the DMA predicts that commercial solicitations should begin to decrease within three months.
What to do when a donor is extra angry:
Some people aren’t content just to be removed just from your list. If they are still angry once you’ve collected their information and done all you can do on your end, it might be helpful to connect them with information about the DMA’s No Pander List.
The registration for this list can be accessed at www.dmachoice.org. There is a small fee ($4) associated with this service, but they can be removed from solicitations of their choice for ten years.
What to do if a donor asks what lists you purchased their name from:
Some people want specifics. However, this isn’t always a realistic request or a known answer. We recommend the following response:
We rent lists from dozens of sources, including online and catalog buyers, subscribers, donors to other nonprofits, and name/address information that's available in the public domain. At (name of mission), we never rent, sell or exchange our donor information with others.
Things to keep in mind on every call:
Direct mail—acquisition in particular—is done in advance. The data files with all the names purchased are sent to the printers and in the mail stream 6-8 weeks in advance of the mailing landing in homes.
This means after requesting to be removed from mailings, people may receive three or four more mailings during the holiday season. The data has already been processed and cannot be restricted.
At Milwaukee Direct we encourage clients to send us an excel sheet each week that lists the do not mail requests they received from acquisition lists. We work to suppress these names and addresses during the ongoing data preparation process and may be able to reduce the number of mailings received to only one or two more per name.
Do not mail requests are a part of every acquisition season, but armed with the knowledge of this post, we hope that you can face them with renewed energy!
We’ve also put together this information into a sample phone script you can use to help your team navigate these callers! Click the button to download!
By Raianne Vasquez
Vasquez is a Client Account & Digital Manager with MDM Fundraising. She has been with MDM since 2018 and brings expertise in Facebook, display and Google Ads marketing. She is a skilled social media master with a keen eye for high-impact digital design and a passion for helping others tell their story through digital media. She can be reached at rvasquez@mdmfundraising.com