Too often when someone wants more leads they look to advertise for new customers.
What about the people who have enquired recently or bought from you already?
In fact, it’s six to seven times cheaper to get someone to buy from you again than it is to get a new customer.
Which is where you could be sitting on a hidden marketing goldmine … your database!
So let’s unpack four different things you can do get the most out of your database marketing:
1) Create a Database
The first one is to create a database. If you don’t have one already in a format that you can easily market to, then create it.
Many businesses have their customers in all sorts of places – their accounting package, in a spreadsheet or even on bits of paper. By getting them into a central place and in a form you can communicate with you’ll be in a position to market to them.
There are lots of different email and CRM packages out there eg MailChimp, Zoho, ActiveCampaign or Keap. Just find one that will suit the needs of your business.
2) Be Consistent With Your Database Marketing
There are two keys to effective marketing – recency and frequency. i e have people heard about you recently and are they are hearing about you frequently. This is where you can use your database to your advantage.
If you are consistent with your database marketing, it means you will be the first person your potential customer thinks of when they need your products and services. You will need to work out what frequency works best for your market – it could be once a month, once a week or even a couple times a week.
The key is that it happens consistently. Usually this means delegating it to a team member or sometimes even outsourcing.
3) Add Value to Your Database
When communicating with your database you should always be aiming to add value. What does your ideal customer or prospect want? What information would be valuable to them? What tips could you provide them with? What information will help them solve problems they are facing?
Marketing also involves education so think about what you can help them learn. Teach them about your products and services. Teach them how to solve problems. Also teach them why they should choose you over your competition.
From time to time, you also want to include some offers to get your prospects to take action. Add a few success stories, case studies or testimonials, and you’ll be on a winner when it comes to database marketing.
4) Segment Your Database
The final tip is more advanced where you have been database marketing for a while, and this is to segment your database. For example, separate your enquiries from your quotes. This is important because they are at different stages of the buying process and so require different marketing. You could also segment based on different industries or different types of customer needs. The more relevant and personalised you can make your communication, the more effective your marketing will be!
So to summarise, to get the most out of your database marketing:
- Create a database in a format you can easily use to send messages to your customers and prospects.
- Make sure you are consistent with your database marketing;
- Add value by being relevant to the people that you’re sending information to;
- Segment your database, so you can really target the messages you are sending to your database.
By doing this, you’ll find you’ll get more leads, grow your business faster, and it will be a lot more cost-effective way of marketing your business.
