Customer email databases

We’ve seen too many companies tried to improve data integrity and management when it’s too late.

By Grant Keller, director at Acceleration

Companies that invest the time and effort in creating an email database of users that want to hear from them will generally experience better results than companies who buy a list from a third-party.

Similarly, those that invest in creating their own databases are also laying the foundation to use email as a sophisticated customer relationship management mechanism. With a database of customers and prospects it regularly interacts with, a company can start to communicate with its audience in a more personalised manner.

As the marketing space focuses on email and its integration into master databases or legacy CRM systems, the following aspects must be considered when planning efficient database management:  

1.    Consider email ‘Change of Address’ services via traditional channels, i.e. direct mailings, or call centers

2.    Remember to differentiate between promotional email and transactional email, as this is an important compliance issue

3.    Managing customer permission for email usage is vital and is best obtained upfront, preferably via a double opt-in (as in, customers select ‘yes’ twice)

4.    As highly efficient as email is, it’s also an incredibly perishable commodity. People change their email address more frequently than their home or postal address and often have multiple email addresses in place. Most often for work and personal use.

5.    When they manage to append lists, they do not have a solid strategy in place to validate the email details and keep it up to date.

6.    Most traditional and large scale direct marketers still struggle to append email data to their existing lists. 

How can this be put into action?

7.    Building web-based list generators and preference centers that make it easy to;

• Obtain permission to email and capture proof of the opt-in
  
• Provide customers with a platform to choice the type of mailings and how often they’d like to receive them
  
• Provide a mechanism for customers to update or amend their profiles or data points
• Have the internal business rules in place to validate data entry into the online forms on the fly
  

8.    Create an automated email activation program from the moment the customer opts-in. We see a 30% drop-off in registrations after the confirmation email, but those that do confirm are genuinely interested in what your company has to say and in establishing a relationship with you

9.    Integrate all the captured data back into the master database or CRM system, using unique identifiers – over and above just the email address if possible.

10.    Have a bounce recovery strategy in place, i.e. what to do if an email address bounces after multiple transmissions.

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By Grant Keller  on   Jul 12,2008

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Keywords

customer database    communications    customers    email database    CRM    outsourcing   

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