Editor’s note: John Hood is the president of MCH Strategic Data, Mo.
Database marketing enables you to reach a multitude of market segments from retail to business to education. Yet most compilers collect data annually, which begs the question: Are you just reaching the same people over and over again?
What about the fresh, eager prospects in each market? For instance, the retail market experienced an increase in 35,000 jobs this September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the same month, 81,000 individuals entered a position in professional and business services. As for education, 8 to 10 percent of school staff is new between July and September. Plus, new teachers appear in 10 to 30 percent of schools each month of the academic year.
Why are marketers interested in reaching this untapped demographic? Individuals new to a career or position must learn a lot quickly. They’re hungry for new ideas, approaches and products. For example, in the education market, first-year teachers are 28 percent more likely to buy supplementary materials. Marketers should establish relationships with these newcomers as soon as possible. Where does their money come from? How soon do they start buying?
Turnover is a big problem for everyone. Why? How can employers conduct on-boarding and retention efforts more effectively? How do employer and employee attitudes evolve?
Real-time data offers more accurate market insights. We recently conducted several studies using real-time educational marketing data. The company found that:
- most school personnel return to school the second or third week of August;
- in September, schools experience a 5 percent increase in new names, versus a 1 percent monthly average during the school year; and
- school personnel updates happen year-round, with 10 to 30 percent of schools making changes every month of the school year.
Real-time data allows marketers to gain these insights and reach new customers more quickly. Marketers can access a desirable market segment never before available: potential customers starting out in a new career or in their first job. But how accurate are marketing lists when databases only update information annually?
In those circumstances, compilers identify names that are “new to the file” meaning they were added in the recent compiling cycle. But when did these individuals actually join the company? It could have been any time since the last annual update; since compiling isn’t a perfect science, compilers don’t necessarily cover each company each year. So a “new to file” name could actually be several years old. So what steps should you take to start tracking and using real-time data?
Track customer and prospect information regularly. Conducting surveys on a monthly basis allows marketers to identify changes almost in real-time. This diagnoses changes in e-mail addresses, last names and mailing addresses, ensuring the information is up-to-date.
Identify new leads amongst a regular customer base. If you’re regularly tracking information on customer and prospect Web sites, you’ll be able to target new hires more quickly by pinpointing a reasonably precise window for when they enter a position. This opens endless opportunities. For instance, an educational marketer could create an entire campaign targeting new teachers, reaching a group of new customers and prospects before competitors.
Continue tracking information year-round. Regular monitoring identifies new names as they appear year-round, providing a stockpile of new touch points immediately available as a mailing list, an e-mail list or a phone list. Plus, you won’t waste resources on personnel who have left.
Record more than contact information.Take note of detailed job functions, gender, company characteristics and more. The following year, it will be possible to compare insights, or perhaps conduct follow-up surveys with the individuals who were new this year.
Real-time data significantly improves results, allowing marketers to reach more of the market than competitors. Accurate and up-to-date data often means fewer bounce backs and misdirects as well as higher open rates, ratios and click-through rates.