Database marketing remains the most cost efficient method of reaching your customers and as such we thought we would share a few tips. Many of you understand the amazing value of regular contact with your customers and we again stress the value of adding new contacts onto your databases. For those still pondering how best to manage your customer database the tips below will show you how to unlock the sales potential of your database.
How do you get more business?
Trying to find a new customer? Trying to find a way to unlock sales without committing to expensive marketing programmes? The answer lies in your very own customer and business contacts database. This database is your businesses most valuable resource.
Many businesses fail to maintain contact databases or if so contact their customers is a haphazard and irregular manner meaning their efforts are lost in the “noise” of modern life. Databases are untapped goldmines and the Grid City team can show you many simple and cost effective ways for you to market your products and services to your database.
The most popular method that we assist our customers here at Grid City with is email marketing. We know only too well that tasks likes this can be put on the back burner which is why we manage email mail outs on behalf of our clients from the initial design through to the compilation and distribution. Some clients provide us with content, some clients employ us to find the content but most importantly if its set in the diary to go out at a certain date we make that happen.
Below are some tips to help you if you are thinking about email marketing or already doing so;
Storage of Contacts
• You don’t need any fancy programs, Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Outlook provides a great platform store your contacts details.
• If you are starting out, it is important that you split first names, last names and email addresses into separate columns or fields.
It’s Not Just About Sales
• Use your newsletter to ask questions of your customers, find new staff, or even use them as a test before you take a product to the market.
Entice With an Offer
• If you make an offer – make it a good offer.
• Also include a call to action!
Frequency
• Research indicates that it takes that most people have to receive a minimum of 7 marketing pieces from a company before they will even consider buying from them. Don’t expect that you will get instant results. You need to send your email newsletter at least once a month for 6 months to see results.
Email marketing with Grid City
Below is a set by step guide to our email marketing process.
Set-up
Step 1
We design you an email newsletter template
Email Newsletter Template Example
Step 2
We set you up with an account that you will be able to login to and update your contacts.
Step 3
We design you an online form which we will send you each month prompting you for content.
Step 4
You will provide us with a CSV or Excel file of your database which we will upload for you.
When you are ready to send out
Upon receipt on your order form we will compile your email newsletter. We will check that all the links are working, images are in the right place and run a test through both Mac Mail and Explorer to check that it displays correctly.
Upon confirmation we will distribute your email newsletter to your database.
Reporting
Once the email newsletter has been sent, you can login and see who has read your campaign, how many times they have viewed your campaign and what links for files they have clicked on.
Reporting
Don’t be afraid to contact your clients using email marketing! Informative information is not spam! If you users do not want to receive the email newsletter they can unsubscribe using the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the newsletter. And finally … don’t remove anyone off your database unless they specifically asked to be removed. Contacts are gold.
Until next time
Donna 
