Back to the Basics

By Chelsea Junget

data driven sales As the old saying goes, time is money. Companies are looking for ways to trim their budgets and reach a more targeted audience with less. Here are four quick ways to use the information you have in your customer database to your advantage:

Make a list – many marketers have data in several different locations; consolidate this information and store it in one location that is easily accessible. Also, be sure to rid your list of addresses that have bounced in the past campaigns; practicing good list hygiene can lead to a higher open rate.
Become one with your IT personnel – Don’t consider the IT staff your enemy; marketers need them to grow business opportunities.
Identify basic, but relevant customer data points – find information that will allow you to reach your target market with information that is of significance to them. Such as customer IDs, purchase history, sales data, and order values.
Conduct a test drive with email – Email marketing continues to grow and drives the most ROI versus any other online-marketing channel. Like a scientist testing his or her hypothesis, use a control group and test group to test what works and what doesn’t. For the test group, use a data-driven campaign. For the control group, use standard messaging. For example, the test group is selected email addresses that are relevant for the targeted campaign, while the control group is randomly selected email addresses.

Test and Learn – Send out the pilot email and track the results using web analytics. Use the information to build a more integrated approach for future campaigns.

Don’t expect high numbers right off the bat. Remember: “Slow and steady wins the race!”

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