A mailing list of your existing or past customers, built and owned by your business.
Definition
A house list is a mailing list composed of your own existing customers, past customers, leads, and other contacts you've collected directly. It's the opposite of a purchased prospect list. House lists are built over time from intake forms, point-of-sale systems, scheduling software, CRM records, and other first-party sources.
Why it matters
House lists generate 2–4x higher response rates than prospect lists because there's already an existing relationship and trust. The recipients know your name, recognize your branding, and may have had positive experiences. House lists are also dramatically cheaper because you already own the data — no list rental fees.
Example
A dental practice's house list is its database of current and past patients exported from the practice management system. Mailing recall postcards to this list typically achieves 5–9% response rates compared to 1–2% for a purchased neighborhood prospect list of the same size.
Related terms
- Direct Mail Response Rate — The percentage of mail recipients who take the desired action — call, visit, scan a QR ...
- Prospect List — A mailing list of potential new customers — purchased, rented, or compiled from public ...
- Reactivation Campaign — A targeted marketing sequence aimed at bringing back lapsed or inactive customers.
- Win-Back Campaign — A targeted sequence aimed at customers who explicitly stopped doing business — canceled...
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