Utilising customer relationship management (CRM) data

It is more expensive to attract and retain new customers than it is to reinforce your relationship with your existing customers.

If you are collecting information on your clients and not using this as the basis of a communication strategy, you are wasting a golden opportunity.

There are a range of strategies you can utilise to maintain communication with you clients. These will vary depending on the nature of your business, the resources at your disposal, and the profile of your customers.

The main points to remember is that all communication should be targeted to the specific needs and interests of your client, and that you are giving them something of value - not just bombarding them with intrusive sales pitches.

Targeted communications allow you to interact with your market in meaningful ways, focusing your message in a more personalised strategy.

Examples of targeted communications can include e-newsletters clients or potential customers who have registered via your website, birthday cards with discount vouchers to key clients, targeted direct mail offers to high volume customers offering product or service discounts.

A marketing firm can provide you with a range of strategies specifically targeted to your needs, and fully can assist in implementing them for you.

Through effectively utilising CRM, and combining it with targeted communication strategies, you will ensure your business gains a competitive advantage.

“This article was written by Tracy-Madonna Wylie, Business Manager, Nutbirdz Strategic Marketing, and printed in the My Marketing Companion column of the Fraser Coast Chronicle in 2007.”