Clean Up Your Contact Database

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5 Steps to Record SuccessClean up your contact database

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ChallengesCommon contact database issues:• Old, invalid email addresses

If you haven’t emailed [email protected] in a while, it’s very possible their address has changed.

• Incomplete or fragmented lists Only some customers are in the database, or various salespeople have their own list.

• Information Islands Many companies find that they have contacts listed through multiple tools, Salesforce, MailChimp, SurveyMonkey, CRM’s, etc.

• Inconsistent data entry Asking for or entering an email address for one batch of contacts but only a phone number for the next.

• The all-or-nothing approach Blasting the same content to all contacts instead of segmenting can cause people to unsubscribe.

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So how do we fix this?


1. Out With The Old• Consolidate: Determine what program will house your

master list. Import all contacts to one point and determine a process for maintenance.

• Validate: Using whatever third party email service you have, send an email to your database – something of broad appeal such as a company newsletter.

• Then segment the addresses that bounce.* Keep the contact record, though.

*Create a “bad email” list. We will come back to these later.


2. Contact Classification• Think about your customer set and how you sell to them today.• What criteria do you currently use to categorize your customers?

– Geography? – Profitability?– Industry? – Product/services they purchase?– Overall sales?

• Now think about what kind of content you would like to send to them and what types of audiences would be most likely to respond to that content. Some classification options include:– Job title or position in company– Market or industry category– People who have taken a certain action

• Bought a product• Downloaded a white paper• Attended a trade show

• Cross reference these 2 lists and you will find your segmentation headings.Hint: When in doubt, opt for more categories over fewer. It’s easier to consolidate groups than to divide them later.


Just do it!This is the step where most people fall off.Don’t be overwhelmed by the task.

Just get it done!


3. Fill In The GapsUpdate: Spend the time and money to do it right.• Go through your database one contact at a time and fill in

empty fields.• Recover bounced email contacts.

– Study the bad email list and identify important contacts.– Remove contacts you decide are “dead” as in no longer any use to you.– For the remaining list (the important contacts you’ve identified)• Verify the information that you have: phone, address, title, etc. • Search out their new email address via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. or call and ask.

• Use social media to keep up with customer info, activities and interests.

Hint: Hire an intern or student to do the heavy lifting.


The payoff1. You now have an updated list of

all your customers.2. You can directly target them with

relevant offers. 3. The time and money you spend

on marketing will now reach the RIGHT people!


4. Segment Your List• Now that your master list is clean and complete, it is time to

create segments.• Create 3 master segments.

– These are the 3 broadest segments that you anticipate using.– Creating these segments will give you a starting point for your future

marketing emails. You can now target your content and offers to specific audiences.

• As you see fit, continue to narrow and segment your list. Start broad and add more categories over time.


Targeted email campaigns deliver!Relevant emails drive 18 times more revenue than broadcast emails.Jupiter Research


5. Schedule Regular Check-UpsKeep it clean: Now that you have a clean database, keep it that way.• Enter new contact information as you learn it.• Schedule periodic email campaigns to stay connected and

maintain addresses.• Every quarter collect bounced email reports from your system

to create a “bad email” list. Process that list as previously suggested and update your contacts.


Remember…• Make database maintenance an expectation for all customer-facing

employees (i.e., sales, marketing, service). – Have employees add new and update existing contacts as an

on-going practice.• Data entry consistency is key. Train your people to use equivalent

terms (ex: “pres” does not equal “president”).• Think it through. Figuring out the best ways to segment your

audience will make is easier to reach the right people with the right information.

• Accuracy is key. Only when you are confident that you have good, clean data can you evaluate your approach toward your different subgroups. Customers can’t claim offers they don’t receive.


Check List Gather ALL your contacts to one place Purge the list of bad emails (make a “bad email” list) Add the recovered/updated contacts from bad email list Determine segments Add segment headers to database Create email lists for 3 top segments Assign an individual(s) the task of filling in the blanks Every quarter recreate your “bad email” list and clean it up


Next Steps / Questions?

If you have comments or questions about improving your contact database, contact us to discuss how we can help.

Launch Team, Inc19 Prince Street Rochester, NY 14607585.256.1640

[email protected]

http://www.launchsolutions.com/contact/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.launchsolutions.com/

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Clean Up Your Contact Database