A Blast from the Past
Picture it: December 1995. The Spice Girls were dominating the charts, the Internet was still a novelty, and everyone was desperately trying to figure out what to name their new-fangled email address. Amidst this backdrop, our fledgling company was wrestling with an equally monumental decision: what should we call ourselves?
In those days, the direct marketing world was a veritable Wild West. There were hundreds of list owners and brokers, each vying for a piece of the pie. The market was awash with offers to buy mailing lists of every conceivable kind. The one thing they all had in common? A hefty minimum order. If you wanted to dip your toes into the direct marketing pool, you had to be prepared to shell out for 5,000 or even 10,000 records. And that’s not to mention the minimum spend of £1,000—over £2,000 in today’s money! It was an all-or-nothing game, and not every business could afford to play.
A Revolutionary Idea
Enter our plucky band of innovators. We believed that direct marketing should be accessible to everyone, not just the big players with deep pockets. Our mission was simple: to democratise the world of list brokering. We wanted every business, no matter how small, to benefit from the power of direct marketing. Whether it was postal marketing, telephone marketing, or the then-fledgling field of email marketing, we wanted to make it available to all.
So, we set out to do something radical. We introduced ourselves as list brokers with no minimum order and access to all commercially available lists (databases). It was a bold move that flew in the face of industry norms, but we were convinced it was the right thing to do. We believed in the power of direct marketing, and we wanted to share that power with businesses of all shapes and sizes.
What’s in a Name?
But what to call ourselves? We needed a name that captured our essence, a name that was both descriptive and memorable. We brainstormed, we debated, we had more cups of tea than you can imagine. And then, it hit us: Selectabase.
It was perfect. Simple, straightforward, and clever in its own way. Selectabase—because we were all about helping our clients “select a database” that met their needs, without any of the usual constraints. It was a name that spoke to our core values of choice, accessibility, and innovation.
The Journey
Since that day in December 1995, Selectabase has gone from strength to strength. We’ve seen the rise of the Internet, the explosion of social media, and the advent of data analytics. Through it all, we’ve remained committed to our founding principles. We’ve continued to offer flexible, affordable access to high-quality marketing lists, helping businesses of all sizes to reach their target audiences.
We’ve also expanded our services to keep pace with the changing times. Today, in addition to our core list services, we offer a range of postal fulfilment solutions, trigger data, data cleansing, and of course GDPR compliance. But no matter how much we grow and evolve, our mission remains the same: to make direct marketing accessible to everyone.
Speak with Our Team
Inspired by our story and ready to make the most of your marketing efforts? Our team at Selectabase is here to help. We offer a consultative approach to ensure you get the best solutions tailored to your needs. Contact us now to start selecting the perfect database for your business success.
Simple – Selective – Selectabase