http://www.thedatabasediva.com Make More Sales Using a Customer Database Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:51:11 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en What happens to your business when the best laid plans don't pan out? You're going along just fine, following the business blueprint that's always worked to generate quarterly sales growth and, suddenly, the spigot dries up.  In Starbuck's story, when customers had to choose between a $4 latte and a $4 gallon of gas, ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/sales-spigot 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, ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/lead-scoring Eight years ago I was an AFS host parent to Marilia, an exchange student from Brazil, for a school year.  Imagine having no children of your own, then being "mom" to a 17-year-old plopped into your life. Who barely speaks the language. Who comes from a completely different culture.  Here's ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/relationship-building Isn't it easy to fix someone else's business bloopers? We can be oblivious to our own blind spots, but we can sure tell others how to improve. I recently took Megabus, "the low cost daily express bus service," from St. Louis to Kansas City for an unexpected business trip. I am ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/business-bloopers Back in the 80's and 90's, keeping a customer database was "optional." (Well, not to me. As a mailing list broker, I always thought it was mandatory.) Now? All three of the top marketing media--email, web, direct mail--are entirely list driven. List building has become a coveted marketing discipline. The number ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/build-a-list There are 2 kinds of people in the world: Those who like Sunrise and those who've never seen a Sunrise. Group one thrives on networking events--the earlier the better. Why? I've been to lots of networking events, and they're all the same: meet, greet, elevator pitch, business card exchange. He who leaves ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/are-networking-events-worth-it Two years ago I had a custom closet built in my bedroom. The closet company did a great job and finished promptly. So I asked them to give me estimates on two other projects. My thought was to do one per year. Well, as you know, life happens. But this year, ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/recession-woes-more-business-is-right-under-your-nose 4 Ways To Use Database Software to Handle Complaints Although it may feel like torture, a complaint from a valuable customer is a gift. It's a reality check. Use it to make a valuable course correction in your business and exploit the chance to build on an already priceless customer ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/nooobody-expects-the-spanish-inquisition To celebrate 2008, I'm sending you 10 tips as New Year's resolutions for your database... 10. I will clean up old contacts. I have thousands of names in my database, and many are outdated or duplicated. I will create a *dynamic group membership* for all customers with missing or bounced ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/top-10-database-resolutions Have you noticed how customers "pre-shop" online to educate themselves before they contact you to buy or ask questions? Which means by the time you actually receive a website lead, you've got a very short window to make the sale. If you don't engage this prospect just right, it's an easy ... http://www.thedatabasediva.com/how-savvy-is-your-sales-follow-up-on-website-leads