| Secondary to the people working in a company, | | | | tax year, then you'll need to establish when |
| the most valuable asset to any business should be | | | | contracts are due for renewal and budgeting |
| its customer database. Indeed the customer is still | | | | decisions made. |
| 'king' and all businesses are ultimately driven by | | | | Once you have created a fully profiled list of |
| customer demand. To maximise every sales | | | | customers you can then deliver your message, |
| opportunity a business should focus great | | | | focussing on the aspects of your product or |
| attention on understanding its customers' | | | | service that fulfills their needs. However the key |
| requirements and then maintain its database with | | | | to good customer relationship management is to |
| up to date intelligence. | | | | ensure all contacts are followed up and any |
| You may send out thousands of e-shots, flyers | | | | changes in requirement continually noted; |
| and emails but are you reaching the right people | | | | otherwise your data can quickly become out |
| to make a decision about buying your product or | | | | dated. |
| service, or are you simply wasting your marketing | | | | An additional benefit associated with good quality |
| budget with your message falling on deaf ears? | | | | data management is it enables a business to |
| Furthermore are you able to identify changing | | | | identify new pipelines of opportunity. For example, |
| market trends and adapt to them efficiently? | | | | a printing company discovered its existing |
| A skilled marketer will start an effective | | | | corporate customers wanted the convenience of |
| marketing campaign by establishing a target | | | | creating company stationery online, without the |
| audience of key decision makers to ultimately | | | | need to visit an outlet or talk to a salesman. The |
| engage with. This 'cleansing' is best achieved by | | | | printer invested in the technology to incorporate |
| gathering quality intelligence while holding | | | | the facility on his website and the service became |
| constructive conversations with your customers | | | | highly popular with repeat customers. Additionally it |
| and building a relationship with them. | | | | attracted new business from a fresh client base. |
| It is often far more effective to adopt a personal | | | | This adaptation of the printing company's service |
| approach when contacting customers, after all | | | | was in direct response to customer demand and |
| 'people buy from people'. Try introducing questions | | | | it enabled a substantial increase in sales from a |
| into a real conversation rather than simply reading | | | | previously untapped market. |
| off a script or firing questions one after the other. | | | | Research suggests the better you know your |
| A customer is more likely to respond to someone | | | | customers the easier it is to sell more to them. |
| they feel is genuinely interested in what they | | | | Additionally future profits could depend on |
| have to say. | | | | providing customers with a rewarding experience |
| By asking the right questions, efficient data | | | | that caters to their requirements to keep them |
| cleansing should enable you to establish the | | | | coming back. You may choose to dismiss these |
| customer's contact details, product or service | | | | fundamental marketing guidelines at your peril, but |
| preferences, buying trends and requirements. | | | | you can be fairly certain your competitors will be |
| You'll also need to be aware if there is a more | | | | taking steps to manage their data efficiently, to |
| productive time to contact them. For example if | | | | ultimately reap the rewards gained from strong |
| you're selling long-term services to the public | | | | customer relationships. |
| sector that generally run from the start of the | | | | |