How to Prosper With Database Marketing

Bylori

Modern marketing requires that you know as much about your customers and prospects as possible. This ensures that you will be able to respond to your customers’ actual needs and send marketing messages that are most likely to be of interest to the people who can buy from you. Database marketing provides a method of gathering and using customer information that will give you a competitive edge in finding new customers and consistently satisfying your existing clients.

What Is Database Marketing?

At it simplest, database marketing is the gathering of relevant customer data in one easily accessible source, such as a computer database, then using that data to guide your marketing efforts. With an effective program of database marketing, you can:

  • Understand the basic demographics of your customer base, such as age, geographical area, income type, employment, gender and family status.
  • Understand customer needs by tracking what they purchase, what problems they report, and what they request.
  • Recognize what individual customers need and, in many cases, anticipate their requests before they even make them.
  • Know the long-term value of a customer by tracking the amount and type of purchases over time.
  • Predict what kinds of new products and services will be the most valuable to your customers and the most profitable for you.

Using Database Marketing

  • Establish which database software will be used throughout your company and stick with it consistently.
  • Determine what information will be included in the database, such as customer name, age, dollar amount of types of purchases, product preferences, most recent transactions, demonstrated needs and customer remarks.
  • Segment your customers and prospects into categories based on information in the database.
  • Frequently update the database with the most recent customer information. Remove old contacts or listings of individuals who are no longer valid customers.
  • Draw on the information in the database to craft marketing messages, create advertising campaigns and produce promotional material that will be of interest to your specific types of customers and prospects.

How can you improve your database marketing techniques to retain more customers, boost customer relationships and grow your business?

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