Leveraging Marketing Data

Over time, as your marketing database becomes more robust, it can become one of your organization’s most valuable assets – but only if you do something with it.

Depending on your marketing objectives, here are four ways that you can leverage the data in your database:

Marketing Research

A complete and accurate database can provide you with a wealth of data to parse and analyze to help you understand your markets. Some of the most basic types of research to better understand your markets may include opportunities by geography (perhaps to assist in the alignment of sales territories), by vertical industry segments, or by market potential based on the size of the prospects. The better you understand the dynamics of your market, the more strategic your marketing efforts can become.

Personalization of Communications

Personalization involves more than just mail-merging, “Hello 'name' ”. Today, digital technologies allow for a much more relevant communication experience. Consider these examples:

Digital Print

Using your database, you can use digital printing to make the copy points unique and relevant to each person; insert images that relate to the individual, or even download directions from Google Maps to provide turn-by-turn directions from the prospect’s address to yours. By leveraging your data, you can take the “mass” out of “mass communications” but maintain a high degree of production efficiency.

Online Communications

Your database allows you to not simply maintain constant contact with your prospects and clients, but to engage them interactively through media such as email, mobile texting, web-based faxing and broadcast voicemail.

All of these technologies allow you to send out communications quickly and inexpensively, and some (like email and texting) invite response and interaction.

Plus, most of these web-based communications vehicles provide reports to help you keep your database clean, such as “hard bounced” emails or fax numbers that don’t connect.

Segmentation

Your marketing database will also provide you the opportunity to segment your prospects or clients for more targeted communications. For example, segmentation can be useful if a major competitor leaves a market and you want to target prospects in a specific area, or if you have a new product but it would only be applicable to specific market segments. If built properly, you should be able to segment your data based on any field of data you have collected.

Timing

If your prospects, or segments of your target audiences, have seasonal buying patterns, you can use the database to time the messages you send out so they are received when the prospects are more receptive to receive them. For example, an offer for auto insurance quotes will likely get more consideration when received at the time of a policy renewal than during the term of the policy.

We could go on and on with the many ways organizations can leverage the data they have collected on their market, but we think we made our point. The bottom line is that through proper planning and execution, marketers can gain knowledge, efficiencies and better results by leveraging their marketing data.

To learn more about database marketing, contact DMC Advertising at (800) 952-9165.