With the advance of technology and modern communication channels, businesses can target the whole world with their products and services because, technically, most of the world is accessible. Such a marketing strategy would be very expensive and require significant resources but it would be the wrong thing to do in any case. This is because 99.9% of the world is probably not your business’s typical customer and it makes far better sense to target people who are interested in what you have to offer. The way to do that is by collecting personal data.

Does your business have a system in place for capturing the email/postal address, name and telephone number of someone who phones your business to enquire about your product or services? Similarly, is there a system in place to record personal details when an interested customer contacts you with a question via your website? If the answer is no then you could be missing out.

Data can be extremely helpful for targeted marketing campaigns and takes the hard work out of sales but the only way to do it right is to become data obsessed. Everyone you speak to, regardless of whether or not they buy anything from you, has to be entered onto that system or software so that you can start communicating with that person in the future. Future sales and profitability depend on you becoming data obsessed.

Contrary to what you might think, you don’t need to invest in a complex computer programme to record the personal data of your potential customers – a simple spreadsheet will work. As long as you ensure all call handlers are aware of the need to collect data and how to do it, the system should work.

We are currently using an affordable solution from a Uk based company called intouch CRM .

Data collection is a crucial tool, enabling businesses to make good decisions. It is important that business owners develop a profile of their ideal customers so that these potential customers can be reached without wasting time and money on those who are likely not to be interested in your products or services.

Primary marketing data can be collected in a host of ways. Questionnaires and comment cards are effective if the information you require is wide ranging. This method is particularly useful for tailoring your products and services according to customer tastes.

Customer data should be the foundation of all your sales and creative work including your website, marketing material and any public relations work you carry out. Knowing who your customer is and reflecting this in the way you communicate as a business dramatically improves your prospects of a sale.

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