Profile

Iron Horse Auction Company, Inc. was established in 1983 and is a subsidiary of Auction Promotions Unlimited in Rockingham, North Carolina. The company provides comprehensive auction marketing services for America’s leading corporations, non-profit organizations, estates and individuals.

Situation

The company believes that direct mail provides the most effective method for promoting auctions. To reach prospective customers, the company had been buying mailing lists that were available only on pre-printed labels. Using the labels was cumbersome and provided limited capabilities, such as searching for suitable markets and narrowing search criteria. In addition, most auctions are booked only 30 days in advance, so promotion is very time-sensitive. To carry out the marketing plan, the advertising manager required a comprehensive, flexible business and consumer database to reach key prospects and promote auctions in a timely manner.

Solution

Iron Horse Auction found the solution with infoUSA’s State Business-To-Business and Consumer Sales & Marketing Directory on CD-ROM. These CDs enable the advertising manager to search and send a highly targeted direct mail piece to prospective attendees. The unique searching and previewing capabilities of the CDs make customizing lists easy. Iron Horse Auction receives frequent updates that keep their information accurate for future mailing campaigns. The software also has a feature that saves selected search criteria and other information for later reference.

Results

Judging from the attendance and results of their auctions, the company believes their direct mail campaigns reach the right people and attract larger crowds. Along with newspaper advertisements and signs, direct mail is a very important part of the company’s marketing mix.