The latest news from DataHQ. http://www.datahq.co.uk Fri, 18 May 2012 01:16:24 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.datahq.co.uk/blog/crm-headaches.html CRM Headaches? Are you having a nightmare choosing the right CRM system for your business? Just like us, most of our customers are small and medium sized businesses, so I thought it might be worth sharing with you our own CRM system experience. Now, bearing in mind we're a pretty technical and savvy bunch at Data HQ, even for us trying to find an (affordable) solution to our CRM needs over the last decade, has been a bit hit and miss to say the least. We've used (and dumped) four different CRM systems, evaluated countless other systems, we've done 'cloud' CRM, off the shelf systems; even wrote our own CRM system. All of them had their good moments but equally all of them had far too many 'not so good moments', common frustrations were: my system crashed again, it's too slow, it won't link emails, and so on. In our quest to nail the problem once and for all we made quite a bold move, this happened to coincide with our technology overhaul. For us a reliable and 'easy to use' CRM system is fundamental to providing good quality customer sales and service. So, after endless hours of testing and trialling we moved our customer service and sales department over to Apple Macs, dropped our usual email platform and implemented Apple Mail and Daylite CRM (http://www.marketcircle.com/store/?source=datahq) . Voila, we now have what we believe to be a pretty good solution, it works well, does exactly what we need and no one is complaining! For us (we have a sales and support function of ten) the single most important consideration when choosing our CRM solution was ease of use followed by seamless integration of email and document storage and retrieval. We chose Apple technology because it's quite simply at the forefront of innovation, added to this, just like your iPhone, there is an army of developers out there creating some brilliant applications for your business, often these are available at a fraction of the cost of your usual business apps, i.e. Daylite CRM (http://www.marketcircle.com/store/?source=datahq) . A good example of this is a simple app that allows you to instantly search just about every social network for your contacts. The beauty of Daylite CRM (http://www.marketcircle.com/store/?source=datahq) , like the Mac it sits on, is it's beautifully designed, practical, intuitive, easy to use and robust. Uploading your marketing list is as easy as ABC, and managing your data is just as easy. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a CRM systems Guru or consultant, but I've had a lot of hands on experience using a CRM system, evaluating the value it really provides to an organisation and dealing with the sales function that uses it, day in day out. I'm not suggesting we all rush out and convert to Macs but it's often an option that's overlooked, what I'm saying is keep and open mind and you might be pleasantly surprised. Find out about Daylite for yourself, click here: Daylite CRM (http://www.marketcircle.com/store/?source=datahq) Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:15:47 +0100 http://www.datahq.co.uk/blog/the-resurgence-of-direct-mail.html Direct Mail is in danger of being forgotten as an effective Direct Marketing tool. However, now more than ever, if utilized correctly it can produce excellent results. The "Modern" Approach In recent years the way we approach Direct Marketing has changed significantly. Gone are the days of relying purely on Direct Mail and outbound sales calls to generate new business. Instead, we have to consider Social Media, Search Engine Optimisation and of course, Email Marketing. With most marketing activity now focussed on these modern, and often instant forms of Direct Marketing the demand for Direct Mail has dropped. In the B2B sector this trend is even more pronounced with a heavy focus on Email Marketing. The obvious benefits of Email Marketing are the reduced costs and ability to accurately track the performance of each campaign. However, with the amount of email marketing and SPAM we are all too aware of the number of emails we each receive day in day out. By contrast it is very rare to receive a piece of Direct Mail, particularly at work, and so when you do it stands out from the crowd. As a result we are more likely to read the contents and if the material is well targeted and presented, to follow up on the marketing. Facts & Figures With so much to gain by getting the right mix to marketing communication there have been many studies and reports which show that Direct Mail is still a vital part of any marketing strategy. The Royal Mail/Mail Media Centre have carried out extensive research into Direct Mail and in a recent report established that 17.7 million people had purchased something on the back of a piece of Direct Mail in the past 12 months. Furthermore, adverting mail still generates £16 billion in sales each year in the UK alone. These figures are weighted heavily by B2C mailing, so would the same trend apply to B2B mailing? There is no reason why not as, after all, the people marketers are looking to contact are still individuals. The impact of Direct Mail is not just on actual sales as Royal Mail research shows that 46% of BT customers prefer to be contacted by mail as compared to only 22% who preferred to be contacted by email. A report by Mail Media Centre (http://www.mmc.co.uk/Knowledge-Centre/Facts--Figures/Direct-Mail-Effectiveness/) shows that 58% of people are more likely to click on a digital link if they have previously received a physical mailing from the same company. The dilemma of Email Marketing Whilst the indications are good for Direct Mail the trend for Email Marketing success has started to decline. The Direct Marketing Associations Email Benchmarking Report (http://www.dma.org.uk/sites/default/files/tookit_files/EmailBenchHalf2010.pdf) showed a drop in click through rates of almost 50% in a 12 month period. The same report highlights 3 major challenges to Email Marketing: Growth in Email Volumes/Senders - makes it difficult to attract the recipients attention The growth of Social media and other platforms "The Intelligent Inbox" ‐ improved capability of ISPs and Mailbox providers to allow the user to pre-sort emails However, Email Marketing remains one of the cheapest, quickest and easiest ways to attract new business and the potential for significant ROI is still there. In addition, with the Environmental challenges that we face Email Marketing enables companies to "Go Green" helping both the environment and often, the perception of the marketing itself. In Summary So, what channel is best for marketing? The answer, as always, is to utilize all available tools at your disposal and not rely on one or two channels. In particular, whilst Direct Mail may appear old fashioned and expensive the indications are that there are still great results to be had. Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:46:19 +0100 http://www.datahq.co.uk/blog/customer-profiling-and-analysis-part-2-a-step-by-step-guide.html Customer Profiling & Analysis: Part 2 A Step-by-Step Guide With the Festive Season approaching, many Direct Marketers will be thinking about their strategy for 2010. In the last half of this year the first "green-shoots" have appeared in the Economy and the trend will hopefully continue into next year and beyond. The up-turn in the Economy has encouraged many Direct Marketers to acquire additional prospect data ready to capitalise on potential new business. However, Return on Investment (ROI) is still playing an integral role in Direct Marketers New Year strategies. As a result, there has been an increase in Marketers requesting Customer Profiles to assist in the prospect selection. The following gives an overview of the process involved in producing a basic Customer Profile. Stage 1: Data Cleansing & Enhancement The first step is to enhance the Customer File with a number of standard business variables that will be used to produce the Profile Report. The amount of data that can be enhanced is maximised by cleansing Customer File standardising the address format using the Postal Address File (PAF). In general for a basic profile the Customer File is enhanced with the following data fields: 2003 Digit SIC Code/Description Industry Code/Description Employee Band Turnover Band Location Indicator - Head Office, Single Site & Branch Stage 2: Individual Variable Profiling Once the Customer File has been enhanced with these variables the file can be compared against the Business Universe to identify the best areas within each variable to select prospect data from. The profiling works on a penetration basis and looks for segments within each variable that are over or under represented compared to the Business Universe. The above is an example of a profile using the variable Employee Band. The Penetration bar gives a visual indication as to the strength of the various employee sizes in comparison to the Business Universe. Essentially the further to the right this bar is the stronger the segment. The Market Potential bar provides a visual indication as to the amount of prospect data within that segment. This process is repeated and tables are compiled for each variable. This gives a good idea of how the prospect data should be selected. Stage 3: Combining the Profile Results & Scoring the Universe In order to score the Business Universe with a propensity score (propensity to convert to a Customer) the variables need to be ranked according to the respective influence. For some businesses the profile will show that the size of the company is the most important indicator whereas other businesses may be more dependent on the Industry of their customers. The above table shows an example of how the variables are ranked. The variables with the highest Mean PWE (Predicted Weight of Evidence) have the highest bearing on the propensity score. The findings of Stage 2 and Stage 3 are combined and a numeric propensity score is calculated for each and every record on the Business Universe. The scores range from minus to positive figures and the ranger of scored is dependent on the strength of the profile. Once the scores have been calculated and applied they can then be used to select the prospects based on their propensity to convert to a Customer. Because the propensity score is derived from the knowledge gained on the Existing Customers of your Company, prospect selection becomes very targeted and this results in significantly increased ROI. For more information on Customer Profiling - http://www.datahq.co.uk/crm/customer-profiling.html (http://www.datahq.co.uk/crm/customer-profiling.html) David Battson Production Manager Data HQ Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:05:42 +0100 http://www.datahq.co.uk/blog/identifying-your-most-profitable-customers-through-profiling-and-analysis.html Customer Profiling and Analysis: Part 1 - An Introduction Direct Marketing has always been about maximising the Return on Investment (ROI), however, in both the past and present many Direct Marketers have lost sight of this objective in the Customer Acquisition race. The current financial climate and 'Credit Crunch Britain' may just see the resurgence of ROI at the heart of Direct Marketing (DM) plans being developed by Marketing Departments across the country. The single most significant way of maximising your ROI is to take advantage of the knowledge you hold on your existing Customer Database. Profiling and Analysis can take many forms from a simple comparison of your Customers against a Universe of Data to in-depth Transactional and Basket Analysis. A simple Customer Profile is most commonly used to aid the acquisition of data, enabling the Marketing Department to pinpoint with more accuracy the best prospects to target. This reduces the cost of Prospect Acquisition without dramatically reducing the number of responses received, and therefore, increasing the ROI. Direct Marketing Agencies holding a Universe of UK Businesses are able to enhance your Customer file with information such as SIC Code, Employee Size and Turnover etc. By comparing these variables with the same Universe file we are able to establish the types of businesses you have succeeded in attracting as customers and apply this knowledge to prospect selection. A strong Customer Profile combines complicated calculations, which take into account statistical anomalies, with easy to view and easy to understand reporting for the client. The main benefits of a Customer Profile are: Increased understanding of your Customer Database Easy to understand reporting Improved Prospect Acquisition Reduction in cost of Prospect Acquisition Higher Response Rates Maximising the ROI This entry-level Customer Profiling is ideal for small-medium companies looking to increase ROI whilst reducing costs in these economically difficult conditions. Rather than "retreating to the trenches" in these times of economic uncertainty, carrying out well targeted DM campaigns could see this period turn into one of opportunity. In the next few weeks I will be looking at more detailed Customer Profiling, Customer Segmentation and Transactional Analysis. David Battson Production Manager Data HQ Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:51:08 +0100 http://www.datahq.co.uk/blog/datahq-launch-new-online-list-shop.html DataHQ Launch New Online List Shop Following on from the success of our first Online List Shop (http://datahq-online.co.uk), DataHQ have developed a new and improved version to allow for a better customer experience, more data than before and the ability to build up your own list to give you more choice and flexibility in what you buy. We have taken a list of the top 3000 UK companies from our main Business Mailing List, tele-researched it to add more contacts, E-Mail Addresses, Telephone numbers and to ensure the most recent information you can buy. Within our Online List Shop (http://datahq-online.co.uk), you can select on the following: Contact Type Industry Sector Region Employee Turnover Once you have made your selections you can choose to add Telephone numbers and E-Mail Addresses to your order and then go onto pay for your list online with our payment partner RBS Worldpay and once payment is complete you can instantly download your list. The benefits of using our Online List Shop (http://datahq-online.co.uk) are: High Quality Data Thousands of E-Mail Addresses No Minimum Spend Entire Order conducted Online from end to end High Recency Visit http://dathq-online.co.uk (http://datahq-online.co.uk) to purchase your UK Mailing Lists and UK E-Mail Lists today! Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:18:33 +0100