Effective Database Marketing Starts with Collecting Strategic Information

Zoot was feeling poetic. “A list is like an olive tree. Once we’ve planted the seeds, and the tree is in full bloom, we still have to water it and prune its leaves, right?”

“Yes, ongoing list management is vital,” Marka said. “That’s a discussion for next week.”

Today’s FIRE! Point
Database marketing depends on the creation, development and use of customer and prospect databases to strengthen relationships with these businesses. Effective marketing begins with a comprehensive database, so train employees to gather information at various touch points. Start by collecting basic information, such as names and e-mail addresses. As time passes, delve deeper into your customer’s profile by uncovering personal likes, short- and long-term buying needs, competitive potential vendors and other pertinent information.

FIRE! in Action
List Building Leads to Better Marketing

The Maids International created a “demographic snapshot” of past customers and used the data to build a list of prospects with similar characteristics. When mailed to, the targeted households yielded a 49 percent higher response rate than non-targeted names, and the mailing achieved a 105 percent increase in ROI over the company’s previous mailing.

Next week: The FEI tribe further explores the importance of database management.