Looking at a list

The PowerMark Group, Inc
31411 Camino Capistrano, Suite 300
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
phone: 949.481.4100
fax: 949.388.0717
email: info@thepowermarkgroup.com
www.thepowermarkgroup.com
© 2006 The PowerMark Group
We value your privacy and preferences. This message was sent to you based on your interest in technology and marketing. If you received this message from a colleague and would like to be added to our mailing list, please send an email with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line to subscribe@thepowermarkgroup.com.
To be removed from our mailing list, please reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

 

If deals are the currency of good partnerships, then lists are the currency of good marketing. Without good lists, good content, and good timing, you’ll quickly find your company among the poor performers in your category. How do you cultivate a high quality contact database?

With a lot of effort, patience, and painstaking attention to detail. This is not a task for the timid or lazy. Very few companies do this well and they are the few who reap big rewards. Start by assessing your current situation:

  • How big is your existing prospect database?
  • Does it reflect your target prospects well?
  • How did it grow?
  • Do you have processes in place to ensure consistency (e.g., should IBM be entered as I.B.M., IBM or International Business Machines?)
  • When was the last time your database was validated (either by your Sales team or by an opt-in campaign)?
  • Are contacts tagged appropriately (by industry, size, product, campaigns, etc.)
Sometimes, databases are so outdated and need so much “scrubbing,” it’s easier to start from scratch using only the prospects in your Sales teams’ individual databases. But most are worth salvaging. Getting your database into good shape can take weeks or months. It requires combing through it contact by contact, getting sales input, making corrections, ensuring consistency, etc.

Once you have a good foundation, the job gets more challenging and exciting. You then must find the most effective ways to expand your database so you aren’t marketing to a static set of people for an extended period of time. Renting lists from relevant publications or organizations can be a very effective way to grow your list. Buying the attendee list from your industry’s key trade show(s) is another source of growth. And continually asking your salespeople to make sure their data is incorporated into your list is critical.

By paying the right attention to cultivating a winning prospect database, you can significantly improve the results of your marketing campaigns. And that usually means driving more revenue, which makes you a winner.