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Think You Don't Have Data? Look Here!
October 31, 2008

One of the reasons many marketers stay away from database-driven marketing like the 1:1 (personalization) applications I've discussed here is that they think they don't have data. No data, no database-driven marketing. Pretty simple, right? In reality, most marketers have more data than they realize.

Here are some places you can look:

Purchase and transactional data.  Customer purchases is the most obvious source of data, so it's the first place to start. Don't forget to combine brick-and-mortar and online sales.

Web contact forms. Most companies have a form on their websites that allow customers and prospects to send in inquiries. Most never do anything with that information but to respond to initial inquiry. Get those inquiries back into your database!

Customer care.  If you have a CRM system, when customers call in to complain, to ask questions, or check the status of orders, that information is often logged in that system. It is a valuable but often overlooked source of data.

Business reply cards. This information generally goes to a fulfillment house. But that data can work itself back into your database if you plan for it.

Responses from email and SMS/cell phone contacts. Log both the fact that your customers and prospects responded, but also any information they provided.

Trade shows/events. Every time a trade show booth visitor slides a card saying, "I’m interested in this product," that information ends up in the marketing department for post-show follow up. Don't let it languish there. Like fulfillment card data,  make sure it works its way back into an aggregate system.

Customer surveys.  If you go to all the trouble to do a customer or prospect survey, don't sequester it away in a single campaign. That information back into the database, too!

All of these locations are valuable sources of data. By combining this data into an aggregate system, you can develop an extraordinarily powerful marketing database.

The content of this post is drawn, in large part, from "Variable Data Printing: It's All About the Data" (May 21, 2008), a Webinar hosted by What They Think. Webinars are free to WTT members. 

Have questions? Comments? I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at info@digitalprintingreports.com. For more information on primers for marketers and small businesses on digital, 1:1, Web-to-print, and personalized URL applications, visit Digital Printing Reports. You can also keep up with all of my posts on EBS, The Inspired Economist ("Greening Print Marketing"), and other blog sites by following me on Twitter.

Posted by Heidi Tolliver Nigro on October 31, 2008 | Comments (0)