What is a key code, and its importance

Key coding is a crucial component of every serious marketing project. We could go so far as to say that key coding is the most critical part of your list. Key coding is a simple, powerful way to track the response produced by a particular list.

The key code is a set of unique letters or numbers that you put on your sales letter or order form so that its return tells the marketer which list produced the response. Each list (or parts of a list) is assigned a unique key code. Sometimes, there is more than one key code on a list, such as ‘F’ for female and ‘M’ for male. Or A for sales revenues below $1 million and B for sales revenues above $1 million. As responses are received (or sales come in), the key codes are recorded, and the lists from which they are obtained are tracked. This lets the marketer track responses precisely for each list. If you don’t track responses, it sabotages your ability to determine where your best customers are coming from.

Sometimes, a mailer will order 5,000 records from five or six lists to test them. They will split each list in half and send Salesletter A to 2,500 people and a different version (Salesletter B) to the other 2,500 records. At the same time, they will test both of those same sales letters to the 4 or 5 different lists they are renting (also split in half). This may not seem very easy, but it’s not. When responses come in and are tracked, the mailer can easily see which list performed better and which sales letter was more effective. They can fairly accurately predict how much their return on investment (ROI) will be on their next mailout. This example demonstrates why key coding is crucial in testing your lists and sales letters.

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