What is Database Marketing?
Database Marketing
Database marketing is a form of direct marketing. It involves collecting customer data like names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, transaction histories, customer support tickets, and so on. This information is then analyzed and used to create a personalized experience for each customer, or to attract potential customers.
Traditional direct marketing involves creating direct mail pieces like brochures and catalogs and mailing them to a list of potential or current customers in the hopes it evokes a positive response.
Database marketing takes that strategy a step further by seeking to understand how customers want to be marketed to, and then applying those insights to fulfill the customer’s need via the best channel.
Benefits of Database Marketing
Customer databases can help you:
- Identify customer groups – from your most loyal, high-value customers to first-time customers and occasional purchasers
- Create detailed customer segments based on demographics, behaviors, or even personal interests
- Design highly personalized messages for both current and prospective customers
- Determine the best channel and time to engage customers
- Improve your marketing efficiency by not wasting time and money sending campaigns to those who are unlikely to respond
- Build effective loyalty programs that provide the right incentives for repeat purchases
- Improve customer service by providing support staff with a 360° view of the customer’s interactions with your brand.
Different Types of Database Marketing
Consumer Database Marketing
Consumer database marketing is database marketing that targets consumers using information such as a first and last name, email address, gender, phone number, and location data.
With consumer database marketing, marketers apply the concept of B2C or D2C marketing to their strategies. In essence, companies use this type of marketing to solely focus on growing a consumer database with different types of strategies.
Business Database Marketing
As for business database marketing, companies who sell to other businesses use this form of marketing to target more businesses. This practice is also known as B2B marketing.
Business database differentiates from consumer database marketing in a way where it’s a slightly smaller database and mainly targets companies who can be considered valued digital accounts. Webinar events, free trial offers from software, and even whitepapers are prime examples of business marketing.
Steps to Building a Marketing Database
Develop thought leadership articles
Articles are another way of engaging with target audiences. Writing leadership articles can also increase a marketing database. It’s the first step to staying relevant and keeping your customers hooked.
Offer free trials
Whether it’s software or a type of service you promote, it’s effective to offer free trials to customers. When you allow customers free trials, you’re giving them time to try out your new digital product as well as promoting it subtly.
Create a free tool to use
Aside from free trials, coming up with tools can also increase database marketing. Features are a big deal for customers.
Collect customer information during checkout
Since you’re collecting data from location, address, emails, and texts, what better way than to extend different ways to collect customer information. During checkout, a majority of cashiers tend to ask if customers would like to join a rewards program. This is a tactic that increases marketing so well because you simply get the customer’s information right then and there.
Acquire a business contact database of your ideal prospects from a data provider
Having a business contact database assists with a data provider can increase your chances of staying in the marketing game. When you have a contact database of ideal prospects, you increase a list of go-to people that can effectively work with your business.
Collect website visitor data via online cookies
Every user encounters this. It’s a pop-up ad that asks if you would like to turn on and accept online cookies. Most businesses do this as a way to collect your visitor data, which then they used to increase and improve marketing engagement.
Create a Facebook Chatbot on your business page
Establishing a live chat feature or Facebook Chatbot can increase your chance of more user interaction. This not only engages with potential customers but improves the support that customers can get from your business 24/7.