You’re in business. You either get why you must use customer database software or you don’t. Let’s find out which. Take this 10-question quiz and give yourself 5 points for each *yes* answer. 50 points total…easy schmeazy.

1. You send hand-written notes to people you meet for the first time (because you’ve got one finger on the mouse, but you still know that a snail mail thank you card shows you’re a mensch.)
    
2. You have a drip marketing autoresponder with at least 5 messages in place for people who opt in on your website or fill out your Contact Us page. 

3. You live and die by your customer database software. The 2 questions you ask every new prospect without fail are 1) How did you find us? and 2) May I have your email address to send you our [your product/service] tips? (Clincher: Excel, Outlook and your PDA do not count as a customer database!)

4. All contacts in your database are coded by type (customer or prospect) or by behavior (“attended a webinar,” “downloaded a white paper”, etc.) It’s easy for you to perform database segmentation and run ad-hoc reports to tell how many referrals, website leads, and new networking contacts you get each month.

5. You write and publish a regularly scheduled email newsletter…and you know how many people are opening the message and clicking on each link. You use this “interest barometer” to get ideas for the next issue of your email newsletter. In other words, you write about what your readers want to read, not what you want to tell them.

6. When you don’t hear from a good customer for awhile, you have a “win back” strategy in place. (This assumes that you actually know the drop-dead date after which your customer is no longer acting like your customer.)

7. When you get home from a networking event, trade show or conference, you enter every business card into your customer database, code them properly with the name of the event, and enter a few notes about each person so you’ll remember who they are 6 months from now. Then you add them to your event follow up drip marketing campaign. Give yourself 5 bonus points if you take your business card scanner to events to scan your cards before you get back to the office.

8. You mail a thank you card or send a small gift to everyone who sends you a referral. Give yourself 5 bonus points if you follow up with your referral partner in 90 days or 6 months and update him on your progress with the referral he gave you.

9. You have a proven drip marketing campaign in place for nurturing a new prospect to keep your sales funnel full. You do not subscribe to or succumb to the “batch and blast” theory of email prospecting. Each prospect gave you permission to email him and you’ve personalized your drip marketing messages to him.

10. You know that only 2 out of every 15 sales opportunities are ready to buy from you today–so you created a ready-to-launch drip marketing campaign for each prospect you send a proposal to. Give yourself 5 extra points if that drip marketing campaign lasts one year or more.

What Your Customer Database Score (or Lack Thereof) Means

50+         I want you to be the guest expert on my next Marketing with Your Database webinar. Please contact me using the Contact Us form at the top of the page.

30 – 49  OK, you get it, but you’re slacking. Hire an intern. That last 10% you never have time to finish is costing you big bucks.

10 – 29   Sorry; this is a case of you don’t know what you don’t know. You only think you’re in control of your business. The competition is stomping all over you with your passive permission. Watch this video on The Importance of Following Up, and call me in the morning.

0 – 9        Why are you reading my blog? How did you find this website? I bet you have an AOL account as your business email address. Thanks for stopping by, and have a nice day.

In a recent “Ask the Expert” column on www.btobonline.com, John Wechsler, president of FormSpring, asks this question: “What is the best way to connect e-mail marketing and data gathered in online forms?,” and then answers it by stating, “Your online form data should go directly to your email service provider (ESP).”

No, no, no John! I disagree 1000%!

I think if John and I had a voice-to-voice conversation, we’d agree that putting opt-in forms on multiple pages of your website is a great idea. As he says, “The standalone ‘sign up for our newsletter’ box is going the way of the pony express.”

But where that sign-up form data goes next is critically important for the long-term success of a company’s e-marketing strategy. Automatically downloading it into your email service provider only gives you half the metrics you need to run your business. Instead, what you should do with that real-time hot lead is download it automatically into your customer database and tie it to an autoresponder. So the opt-in workflow actually looks like this:

1. Prospect opts-in to one or more of your website forms
2. Prospect receives an instant ”thank-you for signing up” email or is redirected to a thank-you landing page (with upsell opportunities…squeeze that urgent interest to the max!)
3. Form data automatically imports into your customer contact management software sytem, including any qualifying questions asked and a hidden code that identifies which form generated this lead
4. The import automatically triggers a real-time alert for a sales rep to follow-up and populates dynamic group membership for future e-marketing campaigns

John’s recommendation gets you halfway there because, he’s right: You don’t want your opt-in form to send you an email with this contact information. Website opt-ins and contact-us requests are typically hot leads that need to be followed up now. Some stats show even waiting 45 minutes is too late. An email notification that sits in someone’s inbox until they have time to process it is a recipe for failure! In fact, the more successful you are at driving traffic to your website, the more failure you’ll have. This method is not sustainable. In fact, it’s a big red flag. So far, John and I do agree that automatic import of a hot lead is mandatory. We just don’t agree on where the lead should be imported.

Don’t Punish Yourself for Success

Let’s say, over the course of a year, your company plans a monthly email newsletter, sponsors five white-paper downloads on your website and holds six educational webinars. If the prospect opts-in for each one of these opportunities (a very hot prospect!), his email address will be duplicated 12 times on lists hosted by your ESP. While you’ll be able to track how well open rates and click-throughs perform for each individual e-newsletter or webinar, for example, you won’t be able to get a 360-degree view of what a particular prospect’s interests are. And like opt-in data being emailed to your inbox, the more opt-ins you have, the more out of control managing all this response data becomes.

Now. look what happens when your web form data is imported into your customer contact management software sytem. Each time a web form is imported, tracking codes are added to your database. When the sales rep goes to follow up, all the contact’s history is in one place for review. The sales rep can see that this is one hot prospect and even which webinars, for example, are more important than others (from the combined campaign scores for each campaign.) 

“One World View” Customer Contact Management Software System

Additionally, marketing can mine this data to deliver even more relevant messages without having to include everyone on a campaign distribution list. For example, she could write a query that says, “Give me everyone who clicked on the May newsletter link on Product X AND attended webinar 2 and 3 AND downloaded the white paper on Product X.” Given enough programming resources, she could probably do this John’s way, too, but why go to all that trouble to string campaigns together and take pieces and parts of what you need, when you can go to a “one world view” database and write a single, easy query?  It’s sustainable. It doesn’t punish you for being too successful or make you think twice about adding another e-marketing campaign to the mix when it makes sense for the business.

So, yes, John, I agree that “Data collected in online forms is the best way to target customers and prospects with the most relevant information.” I just believe that managing that data is infinitely easier to do when it all dumps into your customer database than into your ESP.

A Dynamic Group automatically omits bounced email addresses and opt-outs from previous sends. It automatically adds new group members who meet your query criteria: new customers, new prospects, new networking contacts, for example. It will also automatically limit the list to contacts with email addresses.

Instead of fiddling with Lookups to build a list each time you publish your e-letter, with an ACT Dynamic Group you just create a Lookup of the Dynamic Group members. Your newsletter is ready to go.

I also create a Dynamic Group for bounced emails to follow up with readers who change email addresses or to find the replacement for readers who left their company (good sales follow up strategy, too).

I don’t like losing subscribers I worked so hard to get! As soon as the email is updated, it automatically “leaves” the bounce Group and pops back into the newsletter list Group. No muss, no fuss.

Here’s how to set up an ACT Dynamic Group Membership list:

1. Go to Groups (on the left panel of icons). Create a New Group called “E-Newsletter Group.”
2. Click the Add/Remove Contacts button under the Contacts tab. The Add/Remove Contacts dialog appears.
3. Click the Edit Criteria button. The Group Criteria dialog opens.
4. Begin building your list criteria. For example, the first thing you want are only contacts that have email addresses. So select Contact for the Type of field, and click the drop-down arrow for Field Name. Type “e” to find the email field. Click the drop-down arrow for Operator and choose “Contains data”. The “Value” box will grey out. Now click the Add to List button.
5. Continue adding other criteria. For example, you may want to exclude vendors or out-of-town contacts.
6. To exclude opt-outs or bounced email addresses from previous mailings, you will need to create an ACT! field to track this. In our office we have a field called “List Preference” with a multi-select drop down for “do not email”, “email failed”, “do not fax” and “do not mail.” We keep this updated (Swiftpage can automate this process), and then use it in our criteria selection by indicating “List Preference” “Does not contain data.”
7. Mind your “AND” and “OR” operators as you add each line of criteria. Test your results after adding each query string by pressing the Preview button.

Here’s a snapshot of our newsletter’s partial list criteria (some of our groups have 20+ criteria!)

Keep your email lists up to date automatically with ACT!'s Dynamic Group Membership feature

If sending an email newsletter takes too much time and has too many steps, you’re not as likely to keep publishing. ACT!’s Dynamic Group Membership feature helps simplify the e-marketing list process.

Woody Allen said, “75% of success in life is just showing up.”The Database Diva says, “25% of success is showing up.

The rest is Drip Marketing Follow-up Campaigns.”

Are You Ready To LaunchDrip Marketing Campaigns

From Your Customer Database?

As salespeople, we’re ALWAYS ready to sell. That’s our job. We’ve got overhead, mortgages, payroll and vacations.

But customers are not always ready to buy.

Thus, we have a collision of realities. These two truths simply don’t go together.

More Bad News…Sales Follow Up Is Time Consuming

• It takes 12 contacts to convert a prospect to a customer. In the old days, it was three. Then six. Then nine. Now, it’s up to 12. It’s probably closer to 52 because we have such short attention spans, and there are so many messages coming at us 24/7. We’re bombarded. So it’s a continuous struggle to capture a prospect’s attention, let alone keep him interested, entertained and motivated to buy from you.
• 90% of all salespeople quit after 4 contacts. If you’re that one in 10 who keeps going, merely showing up often means making more sales than the other 9.
• 80% of all sales happen after the fourth contact, but 50% of all salespeople quit after only 1 contact.
• 50% of all leads result in a sale for somebody. Think of the times you primed the pump for a competitor. You did all that hard work-sold the prospect “in theory.” Then your competitor stepped in right behind you and closed the deal “on paper.” He made the sale because you weren’t there when the customer was finally ready. But how can you be in all places at the same time?
• Your customers are your competitor’s prospects. When ignored, they go elsewhere. Even though this is a no-brainer, customers’ #1 complaint is still neglect.

Wake Up! Your Business Is at Risk!

As a long-time mailing list broker, the second most asked question I get (right after “Do you sell email lists?”) is, “What kind of list should I buy? I need new customers.”

Fortunately, I do most of my work by telephone, so no one sees me roll my eyes and say to myself, “Oh no; here we go again.” I think…

“Oh, I feel sorry for you. You seem like such a nice person. Why are you seeking new customers when I bet it’s been FOREVER since you appreciated the customers you already have, up-sold them on another order or asked for a referral? Could those customers even pick you out of a lineup?

“There you sit on a goldmine called a customer database, tucking it away because you believe ‘I’ve already sold them,’ while all of your competitors (every one of them!)is prospecting the heck out of your customer list.

“Pretty soon, those customers on your database will be made an offer they cannot refuse-and it won’t be from you. Then it will be defection time, and you won’t have a clue what happened.

But you’ll whine about how bad business is and what a poor response you got on your prospecting postcard because-and you knew this all along-‘direct mail doesn’t work! Prospecting never works!’”

Prospecting is expensive.

Why buy a prospect mailing list when you haven’t squeezed every drop of profit from the customers you already bought and paid for?”

Here’s a cost/benefit analysis?

It’s 10 times more expensive to prospect for new business

than to retain an existing customer.

You already paid the prospect-to-customer conversion fee!

You already own them!

Cold Call Sales Prospecting Is Not Fun

Cold calling is painful and inefficient. No one likes it, and you’ll lose good staff (and great salespeople) if you make cold calls a requirement. But, guess what?

It’s 3 Times Easier To Sell Someone Who Calls You First

When you make the phone ring with motivated buyers, you’re way ahead of the competition. In fact, the competition doesn’t have a clue what you’re up to. Isn’t that a nicer way to start a business relationship?

List Building Makes Drip Marketing Possible

The list is the most important ingredient in making the phone ring more (or the website shopping cart ring up more sales.) List building can be automated. Here’s how:

Application Guide To Starting A Drip Marketing Campaign

1. Identify every one of your incoming contact touch points, such as a website opt-in form, a sales call, a networking event, a referral, etc.
2. Collect complete contact information on each one, including address, email and phone number. Once your automated follow-up system is in place, you don’t want to stop in the middle because of a missing zip code or email address.
3. Code each contact with its source and marketing category. Now you’re ready to enter…

The Secret (and Subtle) World of Drip Marketing

With our Drip Marketing Series of Services, we help you create an automated follow-up system that will handle at least 12 months of follow ups. You’ll find out how “hands free” it can be to stay in touch with your customers and prospects in a subtle, yet very personal way-as if you were sitting at your keyboard composing each one of those 12,000 messages yourself! No business opportunity will ever fall through the cracks.

Ever again. Starting now.

It’s Impossible To Follow Up Without a Drip Marketing System

Let’s do off-the-cuff, cocktail napkin math really quickly.

Let’s say you or a salesperson in your company makes 20 sales calls or contacts a week, and you’re/they’re supposed to follow up 12 times each.

20 contacts x 50 weeks = 1,000 contacts per year

1,000 X 12 follow-up touches = 12,000 follow ups

This follow-up activity is required of just 1 salesperson. How is that humanely possible? (Plus, don’t forget he still has to stay in touch with customers, do paperwork, live life, etc.)

Say there are 5 salespeople:

That’s 48,000 sales follow-ups!

Clearly, this is ridiculous

However, if we buy into the concept that…

a) We must keep in touch with customers

b) Buyers don’t buy the first time we talk to them

c) We’re too busy to follow up and

d) Competitors live to eat our lunch

…Then automating the sales process is our only hope for survival (and double-digit sales growth!)

Follow-Up Drip Marketing on Autopilot

Here’s a simple example of how capturing leads at the “point of first entry” and putting them on a drip marketing campaign accomplishes these outrageous requirements.

Follow-Up System for a Networking Event

0 days Email a “nice to meet you” note

0 days Mail capabilities letter

7 days Email to Offer Tips

14 days Email 1st Tip

21 days Email 2nd Tip

35 days Postcard offering a Free Whitepaper download on your website

42 days Email “Did you like Tips and/or white paper?”

49 days Email 3rd Tip

75 days Voice Mail Presentation “New Info”

91 days Fax article of interest

100 days Email 4th Tip

120 days Determine final disposition

With your new Drip Marketing System, you will use this template after every networking event. You don’t know today who you’ll meet at the next networking event, but you know meeting people is inevitable. And you know you’ll exchange business cards with them.

Most of these people will go back to their offices and put your business card on top of their pile of other business cards.

But you’ll scan their business card (using a cardscanner)

into your database and start drip marketing to them that same day

using this Networking Event Drip Marketing Template!

You will likely be the only networker with a follow-up system!

The date of the networking event is Day 0. This is called the “anchor date,” because each successive communication message will be “X number of days” after that date. So, for example, on Day 0, you will send an email that says, “It was so nice to meet you. I’m going to mail you some stuff.” Also that day, you’ll mail the stuff you said you were going to send.

Seven days later, your database reminds you to follow up with a phone call–not to sell them anything–but to say, “Can I put you on my list to get my tips?” It’s an easy call, not a cold call, because now they know you.

Fourteen days later, you send Tip No. 1.

Twenty-eight days later, you’ll send Tip No. 2.

Skip down to Day 75, one of my favorite “drips.” Nearly 2 1/2 months later, you leave a voice mail presentation with some new information. You purposely call when your contact isn’t there. In less than 30 seconds, you leave compelling information so they’ll definitely want to call you back.

At the very end of the drip, approximately 4 months later, the database alerts you that it’s time to figure out what to do next with the person. Do you want to transfer him to another drip campaign? Or do you want to email him and ask, “I’m not sure you can use my services, but do you know somebody who could?” You can also take him off future marketing campaigns altogether.

In just 4 months, “you” followed up 12 times with this one contact. (Not including setting up this template the first time) these 12 follow ups took you all of-maybe-30 minutes. All you did was…

1. Add the contact to your database
2. Add him to your drip campaign
3. Make one call to voice mail
4. Determine a “final disposition” at the end of the drip series

Now, repeat this same process for every contact you meet at networking events throughout the year. Can you imagine how much more effective you’ll be now that you have a system to leverage your investment of time?

What’s the ROI…?

12 networking events (one/month) x 5 new contacts = 60 contacts/year

60 x 12 follow ups = 720 follow ups/year

Predict 10% give you one referral each = 72 referrals

Your closing rate = 25%, and your average order is $5,000

72 x 25% x $5,000 = $90,000 in additional revenue

Woody Allen said, “75% of success in life is just showing up.” I say, “25% of success is showing up. The rest is drip marketing.”

After you master creating your first drip, you’ll easily envision campaigns for all the “firsts” in your business, such as:

1. Referral leads
2. Referree thank you’s
3. Following up with estimates
4. Website and live sales orders
5. Inactive customers

Get Help Setting up Drip Marketing Campaigns

If you would like help designing Drip Marketing campaigns to support your sales funnel, here are 7 ways we can help:

Listen to The Database Diva Interview on Drip Marketing (TO BE POSTED SOON)

If you are fortunate to get lots of leads and referrals like we do, you may want to start scoring them in your contact database to work the best leads first.

Ranking leads with A, B, C or hot, warm, cold, based on a prospect’s BANT (IBM’s original acronym for Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline), has been around forever. But lead scoring goes deeper and gets to a prospect’s behavior, such as “how was this lead generated?” (referral vs. cold call) and “do I want to work with this person?”–what is known in our office as bad or good “Karma.”

Can you identify all the behaviors that made closing a favorite client infinitely more pleasant than selling to another customer who bought but drove you crazy every step of the way? Give that good client experience a score of 100 and break out each behavior with its own score. For example, if he was a referral, that’s 10 points. If he did his online homework to short-list you, award another 10 points.

Some behaviors may only add 5 points and some might be worth 25. In our business, we know we have a “25″ when a key salesperson absconds with the company’s customer list to become a competitor. Urgency trumps plain-vanilla need.

Weight the points so that everything ultimately totals 100. Now you have a template to measure all future sales prospects against. Record each prospect’s lead score in your contact database. Run a pipeline report in descending lead score order. Those at the top are your future best customers!

Consider putting everyone with a lead score under 60 on a follow-up drip marketing campaign. They’re not ready to buy from you or they may not know they should buy from you. You need to educate them. Then they’ll change their score and start migrating to the top of your list. To learn how to nurture them til they demand to be sold, attend my free drip-marketing web seminar.

What’s your ranking or scoring system? Post your ideas.