News
 How
to Clean Up Your B2B Marketing Database
By M. H. “Mac” McIntosh, CBC
Don’t waste money marketing to people who aren’t
receiving your message — clean up your database to
maximize marketing dollars. It can be a big waste of
money and time to market to someone who isn’t there
to receive your message. It can also be costly to
keep mailing or calling contacts who are not
interested in what you have to offer. Try these
direct marketing solutions to clean up your
database.
First, consider what is the minimum amount of
information you need about a contact to market to
him or her. In today’s electronic world, you can
send a marketing message to a contact with just an
e-mail address or fax number. For these direct
marketing solutions, you don’t even need a name,
although it is impossible to personalize your
message without it.
If your marketing programs include direct mail sent
via the U.S. Postal Service, you need an up-to-date
address that meets postal standards and qualifies
you for discounts on postage. Visit the USPS Web
site (usps.com) and you can learn all you need to
know about cleaning up your address records. In
addition, search the Internet using key words like
“list clean up” or “database clean up” or USPS terms
like “NCOA” (National Change of Address) or “CASS”
(Coding Accuracy Support System).
If you need phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail
addresses, ask the same vendors you found during
your Internet search. They often provide this
additional “appending” service as one of their
direct marketing solutions. Or peruse the
directories published by many direct marketing
magazines.
Some of these directories are printed annually and
are available for a nominal fee. Others are
available for free in the back of the magazines or
on the magazines’ Web sites.
Another effective way to gather the correct data
you’ll need for your marketing database is to ask
the contacts themselves. Use the phone, mail, fax
and e-mail to get in touch and ask contacts to help
you update their records. Keep in mind that you’ll
have to give them a good answer to “What's in it for
me?” if you want a response.
The best way to keep your list clean and up-to-date
is to use it regularly in direct marketing
solutions. Every time you mail, fax, e-mail or call,
you’ll have the opportunity to ask more about the
contact, get corrected addresses and learn about
those who have moved on. Every mailer should ask the
recipient to let you know if address changes are
needed. Every call should include the chance to
“verify” the contact’s address or key bits of
information in the contact's record.
Work these practices into your direct marketing
solutions strategy and you’ll start turning more
sales leads into sales.
--- M. H. “Mac” McIntosh is president of Mac
McIntosh Inc., a sales and marketing consulting firm
specializing in helping companies get more
high-quality sales leads and turning them into
sales.
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