One of the best ways for marketers to help their companies achieve a competitive advantage is by focusing on managing and expanding their databases.
It might sound a bit like a cliché, but it’s true: the more data you have about your customers, prospects, and leads, the better you can make decisions that’ll improve your business. In this article, you’ll encounter practical tips on how to expand your marketing database. So, read on!
Business person reading emails on smartphone and laptop computer screen online, communication and marketing concept
What Is Marketing Database?
A marketing database collects information about your customers, prospects, and leads. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet with customer contact details or as complex as a CRM system with detailed profiles of each prospect.
Collecting all these pieces of information won’t mean anything unless they’re unified, understandable, and utilized to your business’s advantage.
Why Is It Important?
A marketing database is essential because it allows you to collect information from multiple sources in one place, making it easier to analyze and use this data to inform future marketing campaigns.
Here are some benefits of having a marketing database:
- You can create targeted email campaigns based on your customers’ and prospects’ interests.
- You can segment your list into different groups to send personalized messages to them.
- You can automatically add new contact details to your database when they sign up for your newsletter or opt-in form.
- You can easily track and identify how many people open your emails and click through your website.
- You can quickly discover which products or services are most popular among your customers.
A Guide To Creating Marketing Database
Now that you know the value of having a marketing database, the next question lies: how will you be able to expand yours? Here are eight steps to help you get started:
1. Use Email Marketing Software
Email marketing software allows you to automate your email marketing campaigns. For one, you can set up automated emails that go out to your in market audiences at regular intervals.
You can also customize your emails using templates and drag-and-drop features. A lot of email marketing software are available to help you gear up for any campaign. You only need to find one that best suits your business by considering your needs and budget.
2. Keep Data Up-To-Date And Backed-Up
Building a customer database requires a lot of hard work and effort. Also, you need to protect it against power outages and technological failures.
CRM software can automatically update customer profiles when customers enter new information, and there are online tools you can use to protect such information against data decay by integrating with your software and updating each contact as they browse your website.
3. Buy A Contact List
Buying lists of prospective customer contacts is considered taboo by many business owners because they think that traditional cold-calling campaigns are too aggressive or pushy when trying to reach out to new prospects. However, there’s an appropriate way to approach a list when prospecting for business.
First, choose a reputable list broker with a good reputation—no complaints against them, and they have proven success at delivering high-quality email marketing campaigns.
Second, do your research to be sure that you’re acquiring a high-quality mailing address file to augment your current marketing databases.
Lists can be an inexpensive, effective way to obtain information that helps break down the complexity of your targeted audience.
4. Utilize A Lead Management Tool
Lead management tools are used to manage all the leads generated by your company. They keep track of all the information and provide reports that show how well your sales team is performing.
5. Automate Your Marketing Process
Automation helps you save time and money. For example, if you want to send out an email to your entire subscriber base every month, you don’t need to do it manually. Instead, you can just schedule it to happen automatically.’
6. Collect Customer Feedback
Customer feedback is constructive. It gives you quality insights into what your customers like and dislike about your business. If you ask customers directly, they’ll tell you what they think straight away. But, if you’re not asking them, chances are they won’t realize that you might be needing their input. That said, try sending surveys via email or social media to get more customer feedback.
7. Use Analytics Tools
Analytics tools help you understand which parts of your website visitors click on most often. It allows you to improve your site design and content. You can also use this knowledge to create a more engaging experience for your users.
8. Measure ROI
ROI, or return on investment, in this context, refers to the amount of profit gained from a specific marketing campaign. High ROI means the more profitable the campaign is.
Final Thoughts
Your marketing database should be one of the top priorities in your business. Without a robust database, you’ll struggle to make progress. So, start building yours today.
