Database Management

Is work slowing down these days? Do you wonder what has happened to your customer base? What have you been doing to bring individuals in to buy your “widget”? For people who are used to having more business than they can handle, a slowdown may come as somewhat of a surprise. And they’re not sure what to do to get things back on track. The answer, for most concerns, is to form valued business relationships with past, present and potential clients. Through regular prospecting for new clients as well as keeping in touch with those you already have worked with, you will generate maximum economic profit.

According to Jay Conrad Levinson, the marketing guru of “Guerrilla” fame, “most business owners contact prospects once or twice and if they don’t show an interest, the business owners move on to greener territories...Guerrillas continue romancing those they are courting. Eventually, those prospects feel so cared for, so important, so attended to, that they switch over and begin to patronize the guerrilla who never stops courting.”

If direct mail is not part of your marketing mix, it may be time to rethink your strategy. By targeting a specific group of prospects (don’t forget your present and past clients, too!) with personalized greetings and offers, direct mail can be the least expensive method of marketing you use. It is an economic way for entrepreneurs to work on a tight budget.

There are two important parts to marketing with direct mail. The first, already alluded to is the fact that such marketing probably will not work overnight and so it is vital to maintain the momentum of the media. Things like timely reminders of needed services; cards and letters on the anniversary of a purchase; birthday and anniversary cards; periodic surveys; invitations to seminars; contests; frequent buyer programs; and more are all part of this direct mail saturation. It is felt by most marketing experts that it takes at least seven “hits” before a client will recognize your name or act on your offer. Therefore, you need to plan ahead and create marketing pieces that will make the most of your potential. Continuous interaction is the best way to keep your name in front of your potential clients.

The second part of this important process is to have good, qualified lists. The best offer in the world will not do you any good if you’re sending it to someone who simply is not interested. For example, mailing a dentist’s teeth cleaning reminder to someone who has dentures or who has moved away, will be a waste of money, both in the printing and in the mailing costs. If the dentist had recorded in his database that this particular client had left the area or had had a full set of dentures made, would know that a mailing would do no good. Thus, having a good database, with accurate, up-to-date information in it is also vital.

What information should be collected? Anything that is obtainable and would be of benefit to your company is fair game. However, in a survey conducted by DIRECT magazine (2/96), the following types of customer data were maintained on the database by 50% or more of the companies surveyed:

➝ Names of prospects
➝ Length of time he/she has been a customer
➝ Number of purchases annually
➝ Dollar value of purchases (monetary)
➝ Recency (date of most recent purchase)
➝ Frequency (how often he/she buys)
and ➝ Source of original lead or contact.

Other information maintained by many companies were things like: age/date of birth; other purchase influences; sociodemographic information; SIC code; promotional history; company info; nonrespondents; and types of purchases. The people that answered this survey stated that their database enabled them to move people through the pipeline from “suspect” to advocate in a highly efficient and effective manner. They boasted a very high rate of repeat business among their clientele, and since keeping a customer costs a mere fraction of the initial cost of acquiring one, most of that added revenue went straight to their bottom line.

By creating an image of your business as caring and concerned about your clients, you are giving those clients a sense of security and confidence in you. By recognizing the customer and using his or her name, by talking about personal things before getting down to business, by listening very carefully and sincerely, your business will create a loyal customer. And when you have a loyal customer, you not only have increased revenues, but a feeling of value and worth to yourself as well. And isn’t that really what its all about?