By Katie Ford
The most earth-moving, game-changing message isn’t worth the paper it is written on if the intended recipients use your marketing collateral to line their waste baskets. The fact is, marketing professionals need to be equally thoughtful about building their contacts lists as they are about developing their show-stopping marketing concepts.
Jeremiah P. Sullivan, owner of Framework Media Strategies, says that building a winning contacts list goes beyond identifying target companies — or even identifying the target individuals who work at those companies.
“Who’s to say you caught them at the right time, in the right frame of mind, in the right place that they’d like to really hear what you have to say?” he says.
So, how do you ensure that you’re reaching the right people at the right time? Depending on how you approach the task, building a surefire contacts list requires forethought and a bit of research. In the end, however, your ROI will make the effort worthwhile.
“When it comes to marketing and sales, contact data is a key factor affecting success,” says Maribeth Ross, vice president of marketing for NetProspex.
Ross recommends performing a study based on past buyers to determine your ideal buyer profile. Compare these results to your current prospect database to determine if the database is comprised of the right people. If not, you’ll need to build up your list with more of these target buyers.
Is your message being heard by someone who has the authority and/or the desire to answer your call to action? Business information brokers, such as Hoover’s, can provide contact information by division, job title, branch, rank and other qualifiers.
There are so many ways to communicate these days, from social networks and blogs to email and direct mail campaigns. Which of these platforms are most likely to engage your existing and potential customers? Before you craft your message, determine its method of delivery, as it will influence the way you package it.
Sullivan says that social networks are becoming increasingly effective for raising brand awareness and getting your message out there.
“The conversational element is at an all-time high when using these tools,” he says. “If you can broach a conversation that’s not focused on selling, but more on the sharing of information and opinions on industry trends, your efforts to gain a new client could become very successful.”
In these online social communities, companies can position themselves as thought leaders and trusted advisers in the industry — in other words, companies that people will want to do business with.
Sullivan further suggests putting a real personality in front of a company name if you make social media a part of your marketing campaign strategy. For instance, it’s not ABC Technology Solutions commenting on Facebook or blogging, but ABC programmer Don Winters who can offer sound advice and helpful tips.
“Those who are most successful with these tools get that it’s personal interaction that ultimately lets people come out a winner,” Sullivan says.
Companies should reach beyond obvious professional circles to grow their business-to-business community, says Kalin Kassabov, CEO of ProTexting.
“Your community is composed of everyone you know — your current clients, former clients and vendors, but also your friends, colleagues, rainmakers, networkers and connectors,” he says.
Marketing to these outside-the-norm contacts can lead to new business you never anticipated. Make sure to ask for referrals in your call to action. Furthermore, offer incentives to those who bring new business your way to encourage participation.
If you plan to purchase contacts lists from an information broker, check that your vendor has a dedicated process to maintain data quality. You should be offered some kind of guarantee — for example, replacements for outdated emails that hard bounce. A reputable vendor never should ask you to pay for inaccurate data.
Prospect data decays at a rate of 2 percent per month, Ross says. Ensure you have a way to keep your data clean on an ongoing basis. If this is too difficult to manage on your own, enlist the assistance of a data partner that has demonstrated good data quality.
“By employing some rigor around the data used in your marketing programs, you will see a measurable lift in results,” Ross says.