A history of marketing using databases
posted in Off-line Marketing |Business database marketing was introduced in the mid 1980s. The reason for its existence was the computers and all related software had become economical and highly sophisticated. It was easy to store contact information and also use the data for database marketing. As a result, the results are able to improve sales and conversions by:
· Dictating buying decisions of customers
· Promoting repeat sales through cross marketing and upgrades
· Building client support long term and referrals
The only hurdle was that very few companies achieved one to one direct marketing. They used business models to put togehther preference groups, customer profiles, grouping clients into profitability, developing different strategies for each group. But, when devising a different strategy for each client, it was really too much to take on for most small businesses.
Then came the Internet, it was the largest business database marketing vehicle ever invented. Direct marketers had realized the huge potential of the web. Theese days few companies personalize or customize their each customer.
The biggest change in business database marketing because of the Internet surrounds the business of customer service. The introduction of Toll free numbers that rang to CSRs or customer service reps has really made outsourcing realistic. All CSRs are fully equipped with computers & headphones so that they can access the business database and related topics when requested. They get the requested data on their screen and relay the information over the phone to the client. Then they type notes in customer database to record the subject matter of the call.
These days, companies are also providing customer’s web access to the same screens which the CSRs see. Customers can now create their own searches to get related data without the need to contact CSR for getting that same data.
Companies are pouring page after page of data related to product specifications, technical descriptions, and other details on their web sites so that any prospector buyer can changed for the masses, but today we see a pull back to traditional database marketing. With a US business database, companies are again picking up the phone, or using an autodialer to market the database direct (and the results can be great).
In these days of auotomated marketing, it’s nice when you can speak with someone instead of dealing with a website. One on one marketing is making a comeback, and those companies that can figure out how to combine the information that today’s technology makes possible with personal marketing will reap the benefits.
