Data: My Nemesis

Marketing data helps businesses connect with the right people at the right time. How clean is your data? Do you keep a good clean mailing list?

It’s okay to answer this question honestly. My answer is our list is not clean. And because of that, data is my nemesis. Why? Because data is so hard to keep clean and up to date.

Chances are that you are getting less mail then you did 10 to 15 years ago. In the past, physical mail was one of the best ways to market – one of the only ways to market. Back then, databases were not at all sophisticated. Marketing via mail was “spray and pray,” meaning businesses would send lots of pieces and would then sit back and hope for some success as a result of all the mail that they sent.

Things have changed significantly since then. Marketing through the mailbox is more sophisticated. Generally, you get mail that is targeted to you and relevant to you. There is a lot less “junk mail.” Marketers know more about you. They know your persona, and they know what you might like to buy. Because of that, they are much more able to target the right type of person, at the right time, to buy the product that they are trying to sell.

As a marketer, maintaining the data that makes this possible is key. Your marketing efforts could all be for naught if your data is so poor that your mail is not even getting into the right hands.

So, what can you do?

1. Know that data is important for good marketing.
2. Appoint one person to be updating your data constantly.
3. Put a process in place to verify the current data in your database.
4. Don’t be afraid of mail. Direct mail is a very effective and inexpensive marketing tool when done right.
5. Start over at step one and repeat.

Do yourself a favor. Don’t let data become your nemesis. Work it. Make your marketing more effective.