Maximising the value of existing customers

Your existing customers are your best prospects for growing sales. Customer information provides a good basis for a mailing list, but it is often scattered in different places. You can build a customer mailing list from the following sources:

• order forms and sales records;
• accounting systems;
• enquiries and letters;
• responses to advertising;
• responses to mailings;
• exhibition leads;
• competition entries;
• service records;
• telephone enquiries;
• existing mailing lists;
• visitors’ books;
• warranty records.
  

Assessing mailing lists

Assess lists carefully before buying or renting. Theses are some of the questions you should ask:

• What is the source of the names?
• How long have the names been on file?
• How often is the list updated?
• When was the last update?
• Can you select certain names and addresses according to different criteria?
• How much will the list cost?
• What are your usage rights?
• Does the list cover your target audience?
• What percentage of company listings have named contacts?
• Is the list available in different formats?
  

Building loyalty from your database

The names and addresses of your existing customers are probably your most valuable assets. Existing customers are, on average, three times as likely to buy from you as a ‘cold’ prospect you approach.

Improving your relationships with existing customers is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase your sales. Advertisers have always known this, that’s why they have spent so much money on building emotional loyalty to their brands. How much better, then, to build loyalty through a medium that allows a one-to-one relationship.

Direct mail gives you a unique chance to build loyalty, offering the possibilities not only of a much closer relationship with every customer, but also of one whose effectiveness can accurately be measured in terms of sales.

Through direct mail you can:

• keep customers informed of any developments in your product range;
• let them know about any special prices or offers;
• tell them about your quality and service standards;
• tell them about any special events, open evenings and product launches;
• offer them the chance to write to you, or air their views in a newsletter;
• offer money-off vouchers;
• recruit them into collector schemes.
• There is an infinite variety of more specific business-building direct mail applications.

Some of the more important are:

• upgrades: to a more sophisticated and more expensive product;
• cross-selling: sell them other related products;
• customer referrals: offer them a reward for recommending a friend;
• reactivation: if they stop buying your product write to them to find out why and remind them of its benefits;
• research and product development: use information learned from customer questionnaires to develop new products.
• Every time you write to a customer, you should also give them a chance to ask for more product information, request a sales call or ask them to let you know if any of their details have changed.

Top Tips - Managing your name & address data

• Decide what to do with your database first. Only then will you be able to decide what data you need to capture.
• Verify new addresses before entering onto your database.
• Be accurate - in a recent survey, 85% agreed that 'inaccuracies' in the name and address reflected badly on the image of the company.
• Use the correct format for names and addresses.
• "Dedupe" and verify in conjunction with PAF to clean your database.
• Give your customers the opportunity to inform you of their change of address.
• Maximise profitability by reducing the amount of undeliverable items.
• Ensure everyone in your company understands the benefits of managing addresses.
• Remember a database is dynamic, so maintain it to ensure the best returns on your investment.
• How to capture Name & Address data

Very often, inefficient communication is the result of basic errors that can be easily avoided. The first step is to ensure the correct address is being used. The table below shows what all addresses should include and the order that they need to appear in.

* (where applicable)