Improve customer relationships with your marketing database
The better your business can manage its relationships with customers, the more successful it will become.
What a database can do for your business
An effective marketing database will enable you to communicate better with your customers. For example, it will let you:
analyse sales data and individuals’ personal information
focus your marketing activities more precisely and save you money
reward regular, profitable customers with targeted special offers
measure the effectiveness of your marketing activities
Benefits of CRM
A good sales and marketing database is also the first stage in developing a customer relationship management (CRM) system, which will help you understand how, and what, your customers buy from you.
The benefits of a CRM system include:
increased sales to new and existing customers through better timing identifying needs and cross-selling of other products
improved marketing communications
enhanced customer satisfaction and retention
increased value from your existing customers – and reduced cost to serve
There are some rules you should bear in mind when considering buying a database.>
CRM regulations
Direct electronic marketing is regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). These regulations define what you can and can’t do or say in your marketing messages – eg you must disclose your identity and a valid address to all recipients.