Are Your Marketing Audience Indeed Yours? Getting that Marketing Database Right.

Why', 'Who', 'What', 'How' and 'So What - building any marketing communication plan must involve answering these key questions (refer The 5 Questions of Marketing Communication - Are You Answering These? ). I find that once the intent behind carrying out a marketing program is clear we must look at the 'Who' and this comes to down the basics of marketing - targeting and segmenting.

Who constitutes my key target base?

Brand awareness, product promotion or, lead generation - Unless one knows WHO the intended target is one cannot hope to achieve the end purpose of any marketing program. Moreover, defining the target segment will shape what your communication will constitute and the channels that you would deploy.

For example, is your target the end consumer (i.e. are you a B2C organization) or, are other businesses your prospects (a B2B model)? Depending on this you can identify if ATL marketing techniques will serve the purpose or, BTL channels are more suited.

Take the case of an IT product for a B2B market. If your target audience is the C-level then your communication should be talking about how a solution impacts the overall business, cost vs. returns, benefits to the end-consumer, and other such variables. On the other hand, if the target is C-1 and C-2 level contacts then you must look at talking about the product features and functionalities, and the benefits to the organizations (like, streamlined processes, system integration, etc).

How do I go about getting the database in place?

Starting from ground zero has both its positives and negatives. The main minus obviously being that it’s a time consuming process which required resource investments to validate the contact list. On the plus side, you would be working towards getting a fresh list in place - one with the right contact designation and, the latest email ids and phone numbers.

One can employ various ways to get an enviable list into place -

·        Buy a ready list - There are a numerous agencies and third parties available in the market who have a large database available based on industry and designations. By buying a list you immediately cut down the effort your resources would have to put in to get such a list together. But, the problem with buying a list is you can never be sure if you will get your intended audience. To avoid this, while finalizing your third party vendor, it is best to specify the below points.

o    Ensure you share the right industry and right designation title so a close to prefect list is provided to you.

o    Do a test run of the list - for example, send across a free whitepaper (behind registration) to download to this list. Based on the success rate of this activity you can then further negotiate with the vendor.

·        Build a list - Have a internal discussion with your sales team and identify a list of the companies you wish to interact with. Then get the vendor or, even an internal resource, build a list for you based on the exact designations for this list . This generally has a high success rate as you can be sure your list consists of prospects of interest.

·        Continuous build activities- Online forms, registration desks at events, online webinars or, free content registrations - these are some the ways you can ensure adding on relevant contacts to your database

How do I maintain my database?

It is absolutely essential that your database is constantly validated and updated. Research shows that databases degrades by around 25% every year as people move out of the company or, change their numbers or, move to different roles. Revisit your list, with the help of an internal resource or even a third-party, once every 6 months.

Having a consolidated view of your organization's database also helps in ensuring there is only one reference source. It just won't do if each of your sales has a different contact number for the same business prospect. Today, there are numerous CRM systems in the market that you can deploy in your organizations. Not only a CRM system helps get a consolidated view of your database, you can also track the multiple touch-points that your sales team has had with a particular contact and further streamline your future communications.

How can I use my database?

Activities like email marketing, telemarketing will always be heavily dependent on your database. In addition, a good database can ensure you have the right invitation list ready for your next event. And don't forget to strengthen your relationships by sending out ecards on special occasions. If your sales can manage then do add details like birthdays, anniversaries.

A company I worked with also used such a list to build up a subscription base for its quarterly print and online magazine. The magazine highlighted business problems and opportunities in that specific market. We soon had a very strong target audience who were quite open to giving interviews and point of views for upcoming issues. Such interactions help build the business brand and provides you with invaluable content to leverage.