Direct E-Mail Marketing
Creating a Database
For any successful campaign you will need a good email database. Remember your database is much more than a mailing list and it is important to segment it according to the needs and goals of your business. It might be segmented by how much a customer spends, what products they have bought from you in the past, a first-time buyer, frequent user or their relationship to your company and so on.
At the very least you should have their name, postal and email addresses and telephone numbers. To this you can add any other relevant details about the customer (with their permission) age, size of household, kids at home (with their age range) and buying history.
You have to manage a database very carefully, or it quickly becomes an unwieldy, muddle of prospects full of duplications that hinders rather than helps you with planning and marketing.
Ideally, databases interface with the point of purchase, so that they are always up-to-date and have complete purchasing histories. It is also important to integrate databases to include everyone who is important to your company whether they are a journalist or a doctor.
Regular analysis of your database is important. First you need to decide what you want to measure:
- first time purchase
- frequency of purchase
- buying behaviour -- e.g. genre, day of week, time of year, time of day, event type
- purchasing price -- within price ranges or categories such as student, youth, pensioner, group booking, full price and so on
- area of residence
- purchase by gender or age
- size of the average transaction
Dipping in and out of the database for scraps of information as you need them is fine but it is important to develop consistent, regular reports as they'll help you track changes or measure results against your goals. It also helps you to plan your direct email campaigns.
Below is a selection of ideas and suggestions for compiling a database.
- Client base -You will probably have a list of your existing customers so start here and ask them if they would like to be added to your mailing database.
- Website - Use your website to capture visitor’s details. Response forms are a good technique for compiling information. Ask surfers to complete a form which includes a request for further information on your products and services. A guest book is a similar system.
- You can also encourage visitors to provide you with the details you need by offering them an incentive. www.jackal.co.uk provides free stickers in return to be added to their mailing list. A competition is another similar method.
- Viral marketing or "Tell a friend/colleague about this site" button or text link will also use your website as a powerful vehicle in capturing valuable information and building a database. It incubates powerful word-of-mouth advertising for your website and continuously brings your site, quality, targeted visitors complete with their details. Viral Marketing can also be added to newsletters, emails and e-zines for even more quality information.
- Exhibitions/Seminars - If exhibiting at a show or seminar, you may already ask fellow exhibitors as well as delegates and attendees for their details. Most event organisers will also provide a list of visitors who registered for the event as part of the stand booking contract.
- Off-line - Use response forms on any off-line marketing/promotions you carry out in the same way you do on-line.
- Internet - Smart groups and chat rooms on the Internet can also be a good source of compiling a database.
- Purchasing lists - There are a number of companies specialising in the supply of mailing lists, however, be very careful that they are up-to-date. Ask for a sample batch and test for accuracy before buying. Purchasing a list will give you a good start but they tend to be expensive.