Effective Data Strategies

April, 2006

With the changing economy and our ever-evolving marketing roles, it is becoming very important to take a hard look at the data that drives our marketing programs. Data is a key driver of campaign success – it makes the phones ring for our sales people and it ultimately brings in satisfied customers that spend their dollars with us instead of our competitors.

A good way to determine what data is going to be most effective for your current campaigns and enhance your future marketing strategy is to conduct a data assessment. Here’s a snapshot of RRW’s proven methodology; it’s how we help our clients select the best data for their specific needs.

Interview the people who use or benefit from your marketing data and campaigns. Starting with your internal marketing experts, ask them: What data has been valuable for your campaigns? What have your analysts seen as being predictive in your internal models? What data would you like to have that you don’t have today? Then survey other groups, like sales: What is the quality of the calls coming that are coming in? What are the call center metrics in terms of sales closed per calls taken? This exercise will give you a clear understanding of your data needs, and help you create a data “needs” list.

Interview potential data partners. Now that you know what data will most effectively fuel your campaigns, identify those data vendors that may be able to fuel these needs. Identify a large group of vendor types, i.e., large compilers, specialty providers, and niche providers. Interview them closely on their data elements, percentages of coverage, customer service and support, and their willingness to test.

Come up with a final vendor list – and test. After completing your interviews, determine those providers who seem to most closely fit your requirements. Create a data test so that you can test for accuracy and coverage. This will help you select your finalists.

This seems like a lot of work, but it is a sound approach that will ensure that you get the most benefit out of every important marketing dollar spent. We would be happy to discuss how we could help to facilitate a data assessment on your behalf. Or, we can also send you a no-charge copy of the “RRW Data Strategies Check-List“. We’re always available to discuss your data strategies – just call us at (503) 206-5255, or visit our website: www.rrwconsulting.com for more info.