Marketing with Your Database

3. A System for Marketing

Unless mail order is a major part of your future plans, you will not usually need to buy in a specialist marketing database system.

3.1 Most businesses can make good use of a cheap, PC-based contact management database or a general purpose database, like MS Access, to improve their marketing.

• In a relational database, like Access, you only hold each piece of information once. There are no fixed relationships between one piece of data and another. Carefully framed questions, using 'ifs' and 'and/ors', allow you to get at the answers you need.

3.2 Ease of use is the key factor.

• A database that is not easy to use and responsive will not be used to the full. It must be quick and easy to put in new data and to update existing records.
• Choose a flexible database that will support mailshots (including email), generate reports as needed, allow you to modify selections from a list and connect with your word processing software.
• As an analytical tool, your database must allow you to select and look at information in many different ways (see 6).

3.3 How you can use your database depends on the specification of your system.

• Before buying, decide whether you need to import and export data to and from applications like your website, order processing or automated credit card handling.
• Other issues include total database size, scale and frequency of updates, likely user numbers and any special requirements.

3.4 Consider the processes that are likely to be used to input and extract data.

• Typing in information is straightforward for small volumes, but creates problems if there are thousands of leads to capture.Bringing in temporary help may be the only practical way to deal with inputting a large amount of new data, especially if it is not in a standardised form.
• It may be possible to scan in data that comes to you in printed form.
• Batch processing of input data in electronic formats is an important part of specialised marketing databases.Data imported in batches is automatically assigned to the right fields.
• Forms on your website can be used to collect addresses, including email addresses. Be sure you also allow people to take their names off your database and unsubscribe from your emails.

3.5 Cost is unlikely to be the major factor in your choice of database.

• Initial software costs will be insignificant compared with the ongoing costs of data input, updating and maintenance.