Do you have a customer database?
Are you using it to it’s full advantage?
In this article, we will explore how your business can benefit from a well organised customer database.
Many small business owners start out handling every aspect of the business themselves from marketing, sales, back office, and even filing. It’s easy to fall into the habit of just using an Excel spreadsheet and a filing cabinet to track everything and a customer database seems too much hassle for just a handful of clients.
However, not having an organised database can actually hinder future business growth as it can be hard to keep up with all the communications and actions from client calls and meetings. You don’t want to have to run to the filing cabinet every time a customer calls to check what you were supposed to be doing for them or missing a deadline because you cannot set reminders on Excel. This is why I highly recommend setting one up as soon as possible.
What Is A Customer Database?
A customer database is a collection of information that is gathered about your existing customers and leads. Information varies from the basics – Contact name, company name (if relevant) phone number and email address, to more complex and helpful data like purchase history and behaviour to communications sent and received between you.
But be sure to keep your information up to date, especially when dealing with Business to Business as data accuracy deteriorates an average of 3-6% each year. Under the Data Protection Act you have a legal responsibility to ensure that your data is accurate and, where necessary, is kept up to date. By failing to keep your information up to date, you could not only breaking the law but be throwing money down the drain by attempting to reach people whose details have changed. You could even commit a major faux pas by trying to contact someone who has died.
What Are The Key Benefits To An Organised Customer Database?
There are many benefits to maintaining an organised Customer Database. Here we will list just a few key benefits that will help your business to keep good customer relations and assess potential marketing activities.
1) All Information In One Place
Holding all communications and contact information in one place means you don’t have to search through your emails to remember agreements that were made or who has taken over as the new Purchasing Manager at a client’ office. You can also scan through your latest conversation quickly whilst going through the pleasantries on the phone to jog your memory of the last conversation you had.
2) Repeat Business Opportunities
It’s much easier and cheaper to gain repeat business than to constantly look for new so you can use this space to store buying history and behaviour that played a role in the purchase decisions made, giving you the opportunity to create marketing campaigns that target your customers at the right time with the right product. For example, if you offer insurance, you know when the renewal is due and what they selected previously to put together a great renewal package that suits their needs.
3) Be More Personal
You can also store more specific information gained during conversations with them i.e. the name of their pet or something they are passionate about. This can then be used in future communications, making them feel special as you remembered this personal information, building a stronger relationship.
4) Set Reminders For Actions
When you have a busy client base it can be easy to forget an action that has to be completed by a particular deadline. With a Customer Database you can create a reminder so that you never miss another deadline again. This could also be used as a follow-up for potential clients that wanted some time to think things over. Setting a reminder to give them a call or sending a friendly email may just be the nudge they needed to start the ball rolling.
5) Customer Segmentation
You can segment your customers into particular areas for more targeted marketing. For instance, you may have a particular product that they initially bought and have now introduced a complimentary product to go with it so you can send an email to all customers within this product segment to let them know of the new arrival. Therefore, increasing the likelihood of increased sales as you KNOW these customers are going to be more interested that other customers on your database.
So, there you have a few key benefits. Can you think of any others that you have found helpful? We would love to hear in the comments below.
If you would like a bespoke database that fits your business needs perfectly, then we are here to help. For more information or a quote, call Lyn on 01329 481202 or click on the ‘Request Call Back’ button below.
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