Compare Simple Lists Such as a Mailing List with a Customer Database. How Has the Implementation of Do Not Call Legislation Changed Telephone Marketing?

A mailing list is a list of people who subscribe to a periodic mailing distribution on a particular topic. On the Internet, mailing lists include each person's e-mail address rather than a postal address. Mailing lists have become a popular way for Internet users to keep up with topics they're interested in. Many software producers and other vendors are now using them as a way to keep in touch with customers.

On the other hand, customer database is a collection of records of consumer purchasing patterns and histories stored in a computer system and organized so that it can be retrieved quickly to provide information for a variety of uses. Information contained in a customer database is obtained from store receipts, credit card purchases, mail-order requests, information inquiries, and other sources demonstrating customer preferences or predisposition to purchasing a product. Customer databases are useful to marketers when planning promotions for new products; repeat sales, or cross-selling techniques.

The National Do-Not-Call Registry was created by legislation passed in 2003; it bans most business telemarketing calls to registered phone numbers. However, people can still receive calls from nonprofit groups, politicians, and companies with which they have recently done business. Millions of customers have joined the do-not-call list, and businesses that break the laws can be fined heavily. The use of unsolicited outbound telemarketing has greatly decreased due to the law, but inbound consumer telemarketing and outbound business-to-business telemarketing remain strong and growing. Many telemarketers are shifting their call-center activity from making unsolicited cold calls on often resentful customers to managing existing customer relationships. They are developing "opt-in" calling systems, in which they provide useful information and offers to customers who have invited the company to contact them by phone or e-mail.