Entries from December 2006
How Long Should You Keep People In Your Marketing Database?
‘Tis the season to send out holiday cards to relatives, friends, and business contacts. Maybe you have some friends on your list that you haven’t spoken to or heard from in ages. How long do you keep sending them cards at holidays?
The practical folks would probably cut them off after a year or two of no contact or response. Some of us probably can’t bear to ever drop people off our list—just in case…
A similar thought occurs to us marketers when we think of doing a direct mail or other marketing campaign. One important difference, though, is that we’re spending money out of our precious marketing budget. We expect not only a response, but also sales and revenue far and above what we spent. So let’s cut these slackers off our list, shall we?
Hold on a minute. I’ve found that companies often remove people from their databases far too soon–especially considering the potential lifetime value of the prospect and her company.
Sure, if they can only buy your product once, take them out when they do. But for the rest, consider keeping contacts in your database forever, or at least as long as it’s still cost-effective to contact them. My clients frequently tell me they are closing sales from prospects that have been in their database for two, three, four or more years.
How about running some numbers? If it costs $250 to get a new inquiry and $25 to keep in touch with a prospect, you can afford to keep a prospect for up to 10 years at the same cost.
If you do want to trim your lists, ask the contacts if they’re still interested in hearing from you. Keep the “yeses,” and I recommend keeping the rest in the database but flagging them so they are not included in campaigns. That way you can still use the information for later analysis.
And how about those friends you don’t keep up with? You may get a warm response from a hand-written personal note instead of the cookie-cutter photo greeting card. Or keep in touch online through one of the new social networking websites like LinkedIn. Or just keep doing the same thing…just in case.
My 2007 B2B Marketing And Sales Wish List
The holiday season and new year is a time to think big and think positively for the future. In that spirit, I updated my wish lists of ways B2B marketing and sales departments could thrive. I hope you can take some of these ideas and make them happen in 2007. Here are a few examples.
For Marketing
- I wish more marketers would start treating the company’s sales people as though they were the customer. (They are the marketer’s customer. The end buyer is the salesperson’s customer.)
- I wish more marketers would make the time to regularly accompany their company’s sales people, reps, dealers or distributors on sales calls. This would give the marketers a better understanding of what the salespeople are up against and what marketing can do to help.
- I wish marketers did the work required to better understand the true value of sales leads to their companies. Track and measure, then show internally how their B2B marketing budget relates directly to the bottom line.
- I wish mailing list and database providers would not call what they sell “sales leads.” The lists or databases they provide may be suspects worth marketing to, but they’re definitely not what your salespeople would define as sales leads.
For Sales
- I wish sales management would pay salespeople for all behaviors that contribute to the success of the company. Commissions are important, but how about also rewarding salespeople for “closed-loop” feedback on sales leads, more accurate forecasts, adding to the sales and marketing database, and other tasks important to the company’s ongoing success?
- I wish salespeople would quit complaining about marketing people and, instead, try to help the company’s marketers understand how they can help find qualified sales opportunities, demonstrate product or service advantages, propose and close sales.
- I wish salespeople would take the time to report back on the results of the B2B sales leads they are provided from B2B marketing. Marketing can cut what doesn’t work and keep and improve what does, resulting in better leads for sales.
For Management
- I wish that CEOs and CFOs would approve B2B marketing budgets based on the forecasted sales revenue rather than last year’s revenue. Marketing is an investment in the company’s future sales. It shouldn’t be based on past results, especially if you want sales and revenue to grow this year. Budget for marketing based on what needs to be accomplished, rather than simply based on a percentage of past or future sales.
Full article: Wish Lists for B2B Marketing and Sales
Direct Marketing Tips: How To Cut Costs And Get Better Response
I’ve been asked, “How can I cut costs and find a more practical way to get my target market to respond to my direct mail and catalogs?”
First, determine who your best customers are, then target direct marketing efforts at companies who are similar.
Rank current customers by three criteria:
* How much revenue they represent
* How profitable each customer is
* How well their needs “fit” what you have to offer
Then look for similarities among the unique attributes of these top customers.
* What industries are they in?
* What is similar about how they use your products?
* Are they large, medium or small?
* Where are they located?
* Who are the key decision-makers and what are their titles?
You can also purchase some outside lists of companies and contacts that match and add them to your direct mail campaign.
Focus your marketing with these direct marketing strategies and you’ll improve the overall quality of your campaigns.
Link: Focus your direct marketing
