6 Tips for Generating Leads with Database Marketing
One of the biggest misconceptions we hear in this industry is that data-based marketing is primarily used by large businesses with massive databases. This is simply not true. Regardless of the size of your business, data-driven marketing can become an irresistible vehicle for generating leads and closing deals without breaking the bank.
Tip #1: Always Think Data
As mortgage brokers we spend much of our time prospecting for clients. We go to events, we build our website, we meet people daily through networking, social functions, social media, at parties, etc. The question is what happens to those contacts once we have made them? Are we converting those people into data? And if not, why aren’t we?
As marketers data should be like our air. If you met 20 people at a networking function it is important to understand where each one of those 20 people fit into your database. Are they a prospect, suspect, lead or opportunity? Or
perhaps they are they a competitor, or maybe a referral source? If they are a prospect what makes them a prospect? These are questions that we need answers to in order to build an effective database with quality information.
“Data is like a bikini. What it reveals is suggestive, but what it conceals is vital”
– Aaron Levenstein
Tip #2: Engage with Relevance
Unfortunately, database marketing is often seen as simply compiling a list of names and contact information to include in a generic monthly newsletter or email. Yes, your prospects should know how wonderful your company is and all the great things you are doing. The reality is consumers want relevant information not just about the market, but to their specific situation.
Database marketing is not about sending spam, it’s about having the right message to send to the right person at the right time. Effective data marketing allows you to interact with your clients and potential clients on a personal level, creating top of the mind awareness so that when your potential client is ready, it’s you they think of first. In order to do this we have to ensure that we first categorize our data properly before crafting our message.
Tip #3: Categorize your Data
Since database marketing is all about targeting your potential clients it is important to understand the profile or profiles of your consumers. If you want to focus on first time home buyers for example, and you know that first time home buyers are typically between the ages of 25 – 35, then you would want to include age as a data point that that must be completed when adding a potential client to your database.
In every interaction or transaction you complete, you want to have obtained as much information as possible on that person. If all you obtain is minimal information (name and email address) you will have no value in terms of being able to deliver targeted, relevant and engaging information to them later on.
Tip #4: Win with Quality, Engage with Value
Whether you have thousands of prospects and clients sitting in a repository or simply a few names in an excel sheet, you have a database. The important thing is that your data is relevant and comprehensive so you can have different conversations with different people in your database. By understanding your clients well you can anticipate what they will need and build a solution that will satisfy those needs for them.
Targeted database marketing also cuts down on the number of contacts you make to each person in your database, which is important since individuals tend to respond negatively to marketing overload. Quality information promotes sharing and increased engagement; liking, re-tweeting and positive response emails are good indicators that your marketing is working well. Unsubscribing, spam-marking and bounce backs are signs that you may want to rethink your content and approach.
Utilizing your database to understand potential client needs and behaviours will allow you to create quality and relevant information for specific groups of people. This information then becomes your value, and you can deliver this value to prospects before any transaction is completed. This process also allows you to further engage with prospects by utilizing social media and technology to create interactive information such as podcasts, vodcasts, and e-books. When incorporating this information with a call to action such as a free consultation, information session or seminar this gives you the opportunity to then convert those prospects into clients.
Tip #5: Don’t Give Up!
Building and maintaining your database is an evolutionary process and requires ongoing planning and effort, but don’t be intimidated by size (or lack thereof). You don’t need huge amounts of data or high end software to build and maintain your database. Once you have your data sorted and have established a communication stream it’s then about tweaking and adding data points until you have built profiles to send targeted information to. This process will take some time and effort to perfect, but the payoff will be an unstoppable lead generation machine that will become an integral part of your business!
Tip #6: Know the Rules
Under Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation or CASL, the rules for the sending of commercial electronic messages (CEMs) and the installation of computer programs came into effect on July 1, 2014. Any unsolicited electronic message sent may be considered a “commercial electronic message or CEM,” and under this legislation any CEM sent will be prohibited unless its receiver has provided consent. The penalties for violation are hefty, ranging from $1 million for an individual offender and $10 million for companies. For more information on CASL click here.
