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The list compiling game isn't as easy as it used to be. Once upon a time, yellow pages and public records served as almost one-stop-shopping destinations for those looking to build files. They had to verify everything by phone, but the information was there.

Today, thanks to mobile phones and VoIP, many new households simply aren't popping up in telephone listings. And because of increasing restrictions, access to motor vehicle and other public data simply isn't an option.

So what's a poor data professional to do? Easy. They get creative, offering more options like modeling, segmentation and other value adds to make themselves more of a partner in their clients' marketing programs. Direct recently gathered several compiling industry pros together for a roundtable in our New York offices. Our Richard H. Levey moderated the discussion, which covered many topics, ranging from the convergence of business and consumer information to how to cater to clients' increasing demands.

‘If you're just in the business of ‘name-address-phone’ as a commodity, you're going to be in trouble,’ according to Experian's Ed Connolly. ‘You have to add value to your data elements.’

DIRECT: What do clients want from compilers?

ROVELSTAD: We're seeing an expansion in the multichannel arena. Retailers are looking to contact their customers in the mail, through the stores, by phone and online.

KHANNA: Multichannel is the growth area. Most of our customers are seeing that the response rate is so much higher than it is with just one channel.

BOWMAN: We're seeing a lot of demand for granular and industry-specific data — not just behavior but attitudes and hand-raising. And this data is informing larger decisions. In retail, it influences inventory, real estate and merchandising.

KOWALSKI: Our customers are asking us to do more with the data. They're not just asking for a list, they want us to help them with a whole year's worth of information, to build models or help them run an entire campaign.

BOWMAN: Historical data is another thing we're seeing a lot of interest in. We're going back in time and [looking at] trending information, trying to understand how a particular behavior four years ago can be replicated.

CONNOLLY: We tried to do work with historical data in the early 1990s, but clients didn't have enough history on their customer bases. Now they do and they're interested in pursuing lifetime value and trending. They're also tying in transaction data and looking at softer measures of consumer behavior — like brand loyalty.

GREENBAUM: We specialize in the life-cycle market, and we're watching to see what a consumer does after a lifestyle change. We see segments that in six months are doing this, and in a year they're doing that. We look at the best time to focus on a new homeowner or new mover.

DIRECT: Are you pulling away from any products or services?

KHANNA: We've seen a considerable drop in people just using data for telemarketing purposes, obviously because of the do-not-call list.

BOWMAN: We've seen a pullback from date of birth and other sensitive data attributes in certain industries. Today, you might want to put that type of information in a model and use it in a little more discreet way.

GREENBAUM: We have a lot of clients that would do mailings and would follow up on the phone. They can no longer do that.

CONNOLLY: Unless you have an existing relationship, it's pretty tough to telemarket. Telemarketers are used to having a 6%, 8% or 10% disconnect rate, and the rate is considerably higher if you only call those available after the do-not-call list.

ROVELSTAD: Some are expanding online.

KOWALSKI: We see that as part of an overall marketing program, but we're not seeing a flood of online prospecting. E-mail is being used as a follow-up tool, not as a prospecting tool.

DIRECT: Speaking of privacy, how are you managing that issue?

KOWALSKI: The challenge is making sure that consumers aren't getting scared about the information we have on them, and showing that we're adding some type of value and that we're not just white noise. You need to respond quickly and honestly to inquiries and complaints, follow DMA guidelines and make sure your database has all the proper firewalls and restrictions.

KHANNA: We've all done a pretty good job of having a privacy policy in place, along with a process to monitor every mail piece or phone script, especially when the data set is a sensitive segment. You tell the marketer that you don't want them to mention somebody's age or that they have a child. We want to help them be a little more educated and have a higher response.

BOWMAN: [Checking your clients' credentials] is a big thing on the front end. You want to do business with people who will guarantee good policies and practices.

KOWALSKI: Ed mentioned healthcare and ailment data, and they're almost as sensitive as Social Security numbers. You want to make sure that if you're using that type of data it isn't popping up on an outer envelope and that you're complying with any [regulations] specific to that vertical market.

CONNOLLY: You also have to identify what data elements your company feels are sensitive. Ailments are one, children's data another. We don't allow Social Security data out at all on the marketing side, and if the client does send it, we encrypt it. But you also have to look at things like age. If a mailer is targeting people age 65 and over for a scam, you want to put a process in so that somebody automatically reviews the mail piece and offer.

DIRECT: Motor vehicle information hasn't been available since the Shelby Amendment. What impact has that had?

BOWMAN: You just have to find more sources. Instead of just having one easy source of that information, you have to go out and find self-reported data in other channels.