Reg Gupton's Top 10 Database Marketing Tips

Your wealth and success is in your database. Don't have one?? Stop back often to learn about this most powerful of all marketing strategies.

1. Start small.

Don't wait until you have your database completely assembled. It will never be totally finished. You will be constantly adding, deleting and changing information in it. You will get measurable benefit by starting now.

2. Build your list every chance you get.

Whenever you get the name (and contact information) of someone that you can do business with or more importantly, who can send you business, put them in your database. You can never have too many names.

3. Send messages (letters, cards, e-mails, and/or catalogs) until they ask you to stop.

Remember you are sending information of value to your list. The operative concept is "of value" The value can be notices of new products or services, birthday cards, special pricing.

4. Mix message content.

Send special offers, community service announcements, holiday greetings, and other items of value to them.

5. Send a minimum of 12 times per year (24 or more is better)
.

We each get thousands of solicited and unsolicited marketing messages every day. You need to cut thru the clutter to be noticed. You will be bored by the process of sending them before they even see your messages. Don't give up. Keep touching your client/customer base.

6. Mix the media.

Send messages delivered thru different channels. As mentioned above, send letter cards, emails, and/or catalogs. Keep changing the method of contact until you discover what works the best and provides the greatest return on your investment.

7. Buy a relational database and take classes to learn how to use it.

It is critical that your software will allow you to do marketing campaigns to a specific part or combination of parts of your database. This means that you can attach a plan made up of the items mentioned above to an individual or group of individuals easily. Most software will not allow you to do this.

8. Focus on your existing and past customers.

It is much, much more expensive (as much as 5 times more) to do business with new prospects than with current customers (who know, like, and trust you). Go here first.

It amazes me that professional service providers (that would be most of us) forget or are fearful about working with those that know, love and trust us. Why is that??

9. Make an appointment with yourself for a minimum of 1 hour per week to work on your database marketing program.

Better yet, one hour per day. It is too easy to get caught up in the crush of your day-to-day activities and forget this critical program. Set an inviolate appointment on your calendar to work moving your database marketing program ahead. Don't allow anyone to get in that time block. No one!!

10. Talk with your friends (or others) who are experts at database marketing.

Remember that you are an expert at what you do. It is unlikely that you are an expert at database marketing too. Find an adviser or consultant with years of experience is this rapidly evolving field. I can think of someone (that would be me).

Reg Gupton