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Abstract

This paper provides practical, tailored advice on the selection of sample sizes for list testing. The advice is based on an economic decision model that accounts for both the statistical properties of test samples and the economic factors relevant to the sample-size selection decision. This economic selection approach distinguishes the advice in this paper from the purely statistical approaches found elsewhere. Because the advice is tailored to a particular direct marketing situation, it represents an improvement over often-used rules of thumb. The approach can be implemented in an electronic spreadsheet. Illustrative numerical examples are provided. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and Direct Marketing Educational Foundation, Inc.