Marketing with Your Database

2. Your Marketing Objectives

Unless you are clear about your marketing objectives and how you plan to achieve them, you are not ready to set up a database.

2.1 Target hot prospects.

• Find the customers you want by picking the most promising segments.
• Decide what you are looking for. Work out what characteristics the individual customers and prospects within this segment have in common. (See Research for your marketing.)You can then identify customers' needs and develop offers to meet them.

2.2 Communicate at the right times.

• Schedule and track activities to ensure the right frequency and type of contact for each group of customers and prospects.

2.3 Monitor progress.

• Generate reports to show conversion rates by market segment and by activity.
• Identify unrecognised opportunities by comparing one group with another.