Database marketing is about creating data warehouses to develop models based on transaction data and customer behavior, in order to identify communication relevant to different segments. It involves identifying customer segments and designing marketing messages around them.
It provides the co-relation between data sets and does not provide the cause of behavior. Database marketing is different from CRM. Customer relationship management is about analyzing customer data to identify the right offer, the right time and the right person for a particular campaign and target audience.
The database marketing process involves:
1. Collecting, Verifying and Storing Customer Information
Collecting accurate and relevant information
Verifying and validating information
Storing and updating information on a database
Making the database available to marketers
2. Converting Data to Business Intelligence
Analyzing data to gain actionable insights
Implementing profiling, modeling, scoring and segmentation of profiles
3. Developing Strategies for Behavior Modification (Customers, Prospects and Employees)
With database marketing
You can develop marketing strategies
You can gain actionable customer segments
Allow us to maximize your marketing ROI and business growth.
An ideal database is designed around the needs of B2B marketers and the results the data would facilitate. The objective while screening databases is to focus not only on quantity of contacts, on quality and accuracy of profile information as well.
The annual conference of the Business Marketing Association held back in 2009 in Chicago was interestingly titled, Unlearn. Here’s a simple yet striking depiction of how marketing fundamentals don’t change (based on the popular ad of the McGraw-Hill "Man in the Chair" in 1958). It may be few years old, but still relevant. Take a look
To answer the marketing challenges of then and now:
I don’t know who you are – Launched in 2010, Info CheckPoint is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. We have a team of 200+ data expert professionals, marketing specialists and thought leaders. Get to know more.
I don’t know your company - We provide credible business to business (B2B) data through an online application that allows instant accessibility to exclusive business information. Check us out.
I don’t know your company’s product – We provide an advanced, online search application that allows instant access to data to facilitate targeted communication significant in leveraging business growth. Get to know how to use it.
I don’t your company’s customers – Our customers typically are business development executives, marketers, sales representatives, recruiters and enterprise customers. Check out our customized solutions.
There are 5 important questions B2B Marketers need to ask to ensure marketing metrics are relevant and results are meaningful:
1.What are the specific objectives and goals of marketing investments?
2.Should there be a change in marketing budget, is there significant impact on profit margins?
3.Are marketing investments effectively translated to growth in profit and revenues?
4.How to improve ‘revenue leverage’ or profit dollars over dollars spent on marketing and sales?
5.What are the gaps that need to be filled in optimizing ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment)?
Some of the metrics used in measuring B2B marketing include Lead Generation Metrics, Sales Tool Metrics and, Awareness and Perception Metrics. Whether you measure utilizing all metrics or some of them, in order to be successful in measurement it is necessary to track the right numbers.
So, are you tracking the right numbers? Here are a few pointers:
•Evaluate effectiveness, not efficiency
•Test and retest before designing marketing tools
•Establish measure to segregate consequential publicity from news feeds
•Conduct internal test runs of lead generation / nurturing programs before going live
With answers to these questions and utilizing the right metric mix, you can develop measurement insights that create positive impact to your business growth. Get to know more on how to Measure B2B Marketing Meticulously.
Measure not just marketing dollars, assess impact as well,
Marketing Automation (MA) is a process that ensures prospects are constantly engaged. It creates and delivers email campaigns and other marketing collaterals, and tracks website traffic and responses.
However, it is not about only implementing a new product; it is about a change in mindset. Automation alone does not translate to increase in sales; it will automate sending emails, taking the prospect to the next level is what the sales team needs to do.
Keep in mind – Automation is only as good as the strategy that is developed for it. Therefore, all functionalities of MA tools should be used to justify its effectiveness. You should:
•Observe customer actions and interactions to send them relevant messaging at the right time.
•Know which customer is in the “buying mode”, therefore building valuable leads for your sales team.
•Monitor, measure and develop reports through KPI dashboards to find out marketing and sales effectiveness.
•Develop customized and flexible sales workflow to give attention every lead deserves.
•Integrate MA with CRM systems in order to nurture leads with relevant communication.
Marketing Automation helps you develop customized, ‘right-time’ marketing programs that educate, inform, propose and keep prospects alive, interested and engaged.
With Info CheckPoint you can easily integrate your database with one of the leading CRM applications, Salesforce.com. You can implement coherent nurturing strategies and action plans. Utilize a multi channel email engagement approach to build customer relationship through automating marketing processes.
Let ‘bots’ help you connect relevantly with your customers!
It’s not about Marketing Campaigns or Sales Targets,
It’s about Business Impact!
Marketers and Sales Representatives are like two sides of a coin, whichever side you use the value is the same. One of the major challenges faced by every organization is integration and alignment of marketing and sales. And those who succeed in bridging the gap are case studies in their very own right!
1.Are you able to drive marketers to contribute to the company’s top line?
2.Do your marketing and sales teams embark on collaborative field trips?
3.Is your sales team recording the ‘customer’s voice’?
4.Do your marketing and sales teams speak the same language?
5.Is the Sales Team and their objectives a part of your Marketing Team’s focus?
6.Have you implemented an Automated Lead Management System?
7.Do you have a huge number of leads?
If these questions are your core challenges, a closer look at what works and doesn’t work is necessary.
There is much hype and confusion around buzzwords like “ROI”, “results” and “performance.” So, first things first what is Marketing ROI? It is the amount of gross profit generated from marketing investment.
The hard fact is that CEOs are unconvinced of marketers and the ROI their initiatives generate. Database marketers are always justifying their stance of how they are contributing through objectives of increasing customer acquisition, customer retention and cross selling.
Here are some pointers you can consider in measuring ROI:
Customer Acquisition – calculation of new customers is fairly easy. It is the amount of revenue a new customer is going to generate, which is easily identifiable.
Customer Retention - the calculation usually applied is = Number of customers x percentage retained x marketing costs. However an important metric seems to be missing. Any guesses? Replacement cost! By including replacement cost the ROI drastically improves.
Technology Infrastructure – marketers more often than not find themselves justifying cost on investment in technology such as databases, marketing automation, CRM initiatives, etc. Here are 4 areas which will help in rationalizing cost:
Total Cost – It include total expense incurred on licensing or purchasing technology and the cost of resources utilized to deploy or implement it.
Process Improvement Savings – Dollars saved as a result of introducing new process can be justified as a return of savings on investment.
Information Technology Savings – If new technology introduced compensates for the time invested by resources (personnel as well as machine time) earlier it can be categorized as cost savings.
Time to Market – should new technology propel product or service launches therefore increasing faster time to market delivery; revenue generated from that as well can be included in your validation.
Justfying your investment can be deifnitely a cinch if your database provides rocking results. Gain access to a ROI Intelligent database. Contact Us
Do you think that by “doing it all” your “doing it right?”
While we all can develop an email flyer or a Facebook post, marketing goes beyond being a selling at a lemonade stand. A marketing expert or team can be sustainable by increasing sales and business growth.
MARKETING IS NOT ABOUT
Doing it because you can – it is about doing it because you should. You need to identify what will get you best results. We may all know the basic marketing tactics, however only a specialist would know which one will create impact. Pay attention to professionals, they are where they there are for a reason.
Striving to be understood – it is about understanding first. We are not ‘bots’ and neither are our clients. We need to build a relationship and recognize expectations and requirements, in order to get and give what everyone wants.
Carbon copying – nobody likes copy cats. In order to engage and attract attention, running a copy cat campaign may not be the best idea. If you do not have the time and resources, get help! A marketing team of experts will be able to understand what you and your clients need and will be able to build a unique campaign that represents your brand personality the best.
Making assumptions – just because you build a product or service, does not mean customers will magically appear. It would be a mistake to assume that a good product or service will sell itself. Your marketing plan should revolve around your clients, to include the metrics of who, what, where, how and when to market.
Guessing - Marketing is not about “throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks” and neither is it about “throwing darts when blindfolded”.
When developing marketing plans, client expectations not only need to be met they to be exceeded. While we all know this, how many of us tend to over promise to be one above the rest?
And if the adages in this post haven’t driven home the point, thought leader, Seth Godin puts in a beautiful way, “In our rush to get picked or get noticed or build buzz, the instinct is to promise more. Perhaps it pays to promise less instead, to radically change expectations and to reset what it means to deliver on the promise of delight.”
We adopt best practice approaches in marketing and database management. Get to know more.
Let us first clarify what ‘Big Data’ is and what the buzz around it is about.
Big Data is information about customers available through various sources and channels, from social and ICT networks, from videos and digital images, from sensors or GPS signals, to name a few. This data is something which can be invaluable for businesses.
So why are people getting ‘buzzy’ about Big Data?
Because it is the biggest source for marketers to gain real-time and in-depth insights into the preferences and behavior of their customers.
How does Big Data help?
It helps in creating targeted marketing campaigns. To give customers what they need more than what they want. While you may think this applies mainly to B2C companies you are mistaken, as B2B companies need to consider their clients’ businesses as individual personas as well.
Ask CMOs what defines a successful brand? And they will tell you it is primarily in using customer data to drive marketing decisions and ROI. What better way to obtain customer data than through social media channels. And yet, of around 85% of companies that use social media as a marketing tool, only 19% collect data from these channels!
The best way to create brand awareness, build brand association and increase engagement is in conversing with customers, personally. Mass media marketing tactics for sure don’t work in social channels.
Your next marketing plan should go regional rather than national; it should go into sub verticals, into personas rather than demographics and focus on specific stages in the buying cycles. Your database of customers should be segmented to identify groups to enable targeted communication.
This is where Info CheckPoint comes in by providing segmented databases that are socially integrated including LinkedIn profiles with every contact.
So go get started, drill down, target, personalize and increase marketing ROI!
Psst - While size does matter, so does the quality of experience!
More than 200 million Americans have registered on DND “Do Not Disturb” lists. Marketers need to b aware of their unintended intrusive behavior (referring to our classic outbound marketers).
It is no longer about:
Buying people’s interest, it is about earning it!
Pushing your product or service on customers, it is about getting customers to you!
Inbound marketing techniques don’t just generate leads they generate revenue. Most popular tactics used today are social media and content marketing.
We are not ‘bots’ and neither are our customers. Develop dialogues with inbound marketing rather than inundate with monologues. Marketers spend 90% of their efforts on outbound marketing and 10% on inbound marketing. Ratios of your marketing efforts need to be flipped!
Don’t seek customers in the jungle; make your brand a watering hole to get them to you. Don’t shout, be heard; don’t search, be found. Amen!
Here are some interesting stats, feel free to share the buzz:
Inbound Marketing saves you money! It costs 62% less that Outbound Marketing.
There will be 61% increase in investment in Inbound Marketing.
57% of B2B companies acquired business through blogs, 42% through Twitter and 41% through Facebook.
How relevant are the tactics, techniques and tools used by B2B marketers in the digital world?
Can traditional perspectives and methods used for decades be adapted to a technology advanced system?
Let us take a look at how Database Marketers have different perspectives and attitude from Digital Marketers
Despite dissimilarities, database and digital marketing need to coexist just as mass media marketing did in the past. What needs to be done is to bring about parity in perspectives. The thread that ties Database Marketers and Digital Marketers is that they are:
Technology enabled and dependent
Require customer database to gain insights
Focus on understanding customers and effectively utilizing that knowledge
To ensure smooth transition and integration, there has to be knowledge transfer from direct marketing companies and marketing service providers to digital marketers and vice-versa. Whether you are a database marketer or a digital marketer embracing differences and integrating the best of both worlds is the way forward.
Let your database develop marketing strategies and gain actionable customer segments. Improve customer satisfaction and drive marketing ROI and profits! Get to know more
Email marketing campaigns that use permission-based email IDs, are usually able to convert visitors into buyers. It also strengthens your relationship with your customers. If your email content is good enough to convince your target audience, your product or service is bound to be a big hit.
Owing a verified email list is always better than owing an unverified one. People these days has become choosier and pickier than before. They want quality stuff and don’t like wasting their time on things that don’t interest them.
Your email should have a certain level of interesting readability that will enhance your reader’s interest and will help you proceed further. To sell your product or services successfully online, you need to catch your target audiences’ attention with attractive subject lines and good content.
In fact, choosy consumers are making email marketing more technologically advanced. People are coming up with new techniques to improve this marketing medium. However, to conduct an Email Marketing campaign effectively, you need to be aware of a few basic rules. Given below are SIX essential rules that is bound to be fruitful.
Possess a flawless list
You need to be equipped with a fully prepared list of email addresses of your prospective and target audience. This list needs to be updated every now and then as this list will be the key to your success. You should see to it that the names and addressees are recent, and of course they have agreed to receive your mails.
Smart subject lines
Once your email lists are ready, you need to prepare an eye-catching subject line that will compel your target audience to open the email to read further. Separate subject lines should be set aside for first batch of emails and follow up emails. You can even come up with a set of three to four email subject lines and run a test to determine the best.
No room for typos
Your email should be free of typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Make an impression with a neat and flawless mail.
Call-to-action placement
Apart from clearly telling your email recipients what you want them to do with your email, place the call-to-action where it will be noticed. Don't make your target audience search the entire email for the call-to-action.
Options for Opt-in subscriptions
No one likes to be bullied. Your target audience should be given a free reign to choose whether they want to subscribe at all or not. This option will help you to reach out to those people who are truly interested in your products or services.
Never run campaigns during the holidays
During the holidays people hardly check their emails. Don't waste your email marketing campaigns by sending your emails during holidays like Christmas or New Year. Most probably your email will remain hidden under a pile of other unread emails. Chances are all but the most important messages will be deleted in a rush without a even second look.
Successful email marketing is more about availing the best possible response from your target prospects. You can have a winning email marketing campaign only when you can turn these prospects into customers.
Gain High Email Deliverability | Get On To That ‘White List’ | Increase Email
ROI
According to MarketingSherpa, 2.1% of
contact details change every month and almost 25% of your data goes stale! Utilize
data quality tools, techniques and tactics. Maintain high hygiene of your data.
Try this simple exercise. Answer just 10 questions to know
the quality of your data:
Is data in your database verified and validated?
If Yes, was verification done in the last 6 months?
Have you appended your email database in the last 6 months?
Have you removed “toxic” email addresses from your database?
With multiple emails per user, do you know the “best” email address of your customers?
Do you have double ‘opt-in’ options in your emails?
Do you have an “opt out” policy?
Have you tested your email campaign before going live?
Are you weary of honeypots and spamtraps?
Is the size of your database more important than an authentic target audience?
The score here is not important,
however the answers to these questions are! We are curious to know the results,
aren’t you? Let us in on the insights
Psst: - ‘Think Green, Think Blue’,
Make the Internet Devoid of Data Junkyards!
Without quality data even the best of analytical minds will not be able to decipher data into business intelligence.
Do you have qualified analytical experts?
What you need, are analysts who understand the business of database and direct marketing, not just statisticians.
Do you involve analysts in the strategic and tactical decision making process?
Involvement of analysts is a great way of integrating ideas, addressing issues and discussing implementation aspects.
Do you constantly seek to find innovative ways to capitalize on data you have?
It is not the fact that you have data, but how you use it that makes your business competent. Finding new ways to interpret, analyze and utilize data provides scope to identify niche audiences and unique solutions.
Based on a recent IDC report, every 2 years, digital information is estimated to double. Harnessing the power of data creatively, intelligently and effectively is a great way to keep the mojo rising!
Reference: - Research by Buddy Media - http://www.jeffbullas.com
In today’s D-Gen (digital generation) or I-Gen (Internet generation) ‘socialsphere’ we are all focused on increasing our fan base. Who doesn’t like to be ‘liked’? However is that enough?
Are your ‘fans’ actually interested in who you are and what you have to offer? This is especially relevant in the business context. Corporate profiles more often than not, aim to increase the number followers instead of meaningfully engaging users to identify those who are potential customers.
The tone of social media strategies in the business sense should be informally formal. The idea of social networking is to gain a pulse of the market, to connect with customers and understand their preferences; besides gaining a fan following.
Whether you are interacting with the yuppie, ‘Digital Natives’ or the older, ‘Digital Immigrants’ keeping them engaged is one of the best ways of increasing brand awareness and informing them about new products and services. Developing relevant contests, conducting interesting surveys and providing ‘free’ valuable information will bring about the much required connection.
The train of thought should be to convert all your fans to engaged users, which in turn will increase the potential of increasing your customer base.
Identify those sincerer clicks. If you ‘liked’ this post, socialize this idea!
With the buzzword of ‘crowdsourcing’ in marketing taking center stage today, the approach has taken a deeper view with the concept of ‘Curated Crowds’. Here is a snapshot of what database marketing companies have learnt by adopting crowd-sourcing models until now:
Moving forward businesses now are introducing scientific and systematic methods of data verification. In the first instance the new approach being adopted in crowdsourcing is the ‘curated crowd’ model. While companies utilize ‘free data’ provided by people willingly, quality is free as well. The ‘curated crowd’ approach is basically moderation of crowds to identify people who will be able to provide relevant information. Curation is usually conducted by introducing a survey for users to participate in to understand if their profiles fit and meet the criterion of database requirements.
A ‘gate policy’ like this is utilized not only to gain relevant information from significant people; it is also to keep irrelevant data out.
Enhance business intelligence with relevant B2B data. Info CheckPoint
