With Labor Day weekend upon us in the U.S., and most kids back in school, let’s wrap up the Back to Basics series for August with a few thoughts about your database.
Your contact list is gold. It is one indicator of your company’s future cash flow and a factor in the valuation of your business, should you choose to sell it. One “best practice” than will enhance your balance sheet, both short-term and long-term, is to maintain a detailed database and send marketing emails consistently.
“Bait without a hook is just food.”
John W Hayes, UK Marketing Strategist
Collect data on all your customers and as many prospects as will volunteer information.
I’m not talking about a stack of business cards, an Excel spreadsheet, or your Rolodex®. I mean a true CRM (customer relationship management) system that is searchable, “segment-able” and serviceable when it comes to sending personalized and pertinent marketing messages to your contacts.
If you’re just starting out, your ESP (email service provider) might work for awhile. MailChimp is free with limitations; paid versions open up greater functionality. We use Infusionsoft at Be Media Savvy, both for ourselves and our clients.
Your CRM contains people who have bought from you (and likely will again) or who show interest in your brand (and may buy soon). Your database shows you everyone who welcomes a sales conversation with you to some degree or other…and the information on how to contact them by phone or email.
Email marketing is consistently one of the most cost-effective channels for generating leads, especially in B2B sales. MarketingProfs.com shared results from a December 2016 survey by DemandWave that show 73% of B2B respondents ranked email as their most-productive form of marketing.
Now that we’ve established why your database is valuable. Why isn’t yours growing?
Perhaps you’re still new to business and haven’t heard this before. Perhaps you’re running so fast that you don’t think of maintaining your contact list like you should. Perhaps you’re just “feeding the fish” by tossing out free stuff with no “hook” to catch the vital information you need to follow up with your prospect.
Regardless of which scenario applies to you, your list doesn’t grow if you don’t ask for the information.
To grow your database, offer your prospects something of value – “if.” “If” they will enter their email address, you can send the download link right now. “If” they will confirm their email address, you can create their free profile on your membership site. “If” they will answer a brief survey, you will send the gift card, promo code, etc.
Google Analytics are great for monitoring site traffic, but data pouring into your CRM from a lead capture hosted on your web site is worth far more. Without that data, you never know “who” visited or how to have a sales conversation with them.
Things to think about this Thursday: Are you actively growing your database? Or are you simply giving away just enough samples to satisfy people into not doing business with you?
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