Strategies such as email marketing or social ads not only give our brand’s online visibility a significant boost, but also require careful management of the information we collect in our customer databases.
We’ll talk about the role customer databases play in a 360 online marketing strategy, how they are organized and some of the best tools you can use to create them.
Would you like to know more about what customer databases are and how they are created? Especially for your email campaigns? So let’s get to it! I’ll tell you all about it in this article 😉
What is a customer database?
The term “database” is used not only in business but also in computing, to refer to collections of information organized according to certain criteria.
Along the same lines, when we talk about a “database management system”, we specifically mean the tool or computer software that lets us store all this information.
Seen this way, whenever we collect data from our customers (name, phone, email, contact number, etc.) and, for example, organize it by a particular interest so it can be used in our upcoming marketing campaigns, we are creating a database.
We can also distinguish between a local or single-user database and a distributed database, which is shared with other members through, for example, an intranet.
What is a customer database for?
Because databases hold information that is optimally organized (with no redundant information) and accessible (easy for anyone to manage), we can say they are part of an information system that is ideal for teamwork and for use across a company.
That makes them a perfect tool for handling large amounts of information about our customers and for accessing it quickly and easily, using search criteria such as the sign-up date or the full name.
So the more data we record about our customers, the more useful and indispensable this tool becomes. In addition, a properly segmented database lets you:
- Spot new business opportunities by reviewing your customer data in micro-segments.
- Get a higher ROI from advertising campaigns by running marketing actions aimed at a segmented audience with shared interests.
- Cut the costs of traditional marketing campaigns thanks to email sending and other automated actions.
- Run far more effective remarketing campaigns with discount coupons and loyalty promotions.
These are just a few good reasons to start, if you haven’t already, collecting your customers’ information in databases organized by the criteria that matter most to your business, such as interest in a particular product or the date of their last purchase.
How do you organize a customer database?
Before you get down to creating your company’s or business’s customer database, keep 3 things in mind:
1. Privacy
Remember that if you handle third parties’ private information, you need to take certain measures on your website and keep your privacy policy page properly up to date, stating explicitly that you comply with the GDPR and the LOPDGDD.
2. Segmentation
Not all of your customers have the same needs or the same relationship with your business, so you’ll need to classify them according to how they relate to it.
For example, whether they have made purchases above a certain amount, or showed interest in visiting your website or app and became a lead but never completed a transaction.
3. Updating
As with any other kind of content, keep in mind that your database holds information that needs to be updated fairly often to stay valid and relevant. Otherwise, you could make the wrong marketing decisions.
Bear in mind that if your database doesn’t meet these 3 requirements, it won’t be strategically efficient, it won’t have up-to-date data and, worse still, the privacy of the information won’t be guaranteed.
How do you create a high-quality customer database?
Once you’re clear on the basics of keeping a well-organized database, I want to show you how you can create one from scratch or grow the one you already have.
Here are the practices any marketing consultant who truly cares about the long-term sustainability of your digital strategy would recommend:
- Create SEO-optimized content for search engines that also catches the attention of your buyer persona or ideal customer through the quality of its writing.
- Use links, buttons and any kind of graphic element on your website or sales pages to steer users toward the action you want them to take; in this case, sharing their personal data.
- Publish blog articles or launch landing pages that include a lead magnet. In other words, content that asks for the user’s data in exchange for downloading it.
- Include contact forms that are as detailed as you need them to be to run effective marketing actions in the future. Don’t worry about users being lazy, because only those who take the trouble to give you the data you need deserve to be your customers.
- Network, take part in events and attend in-person conferences to make your business known and gather information on potential customers to feed into your database.
But above all, DON’T buy customer databases from third parties: not only is it completely ineffective for your marketing actions, it can also get you into legal trouble.
Tools for creating customer databases
To know which option is best for creating your own database, we would first have to define your business strategy, but I can point you in the right direction by telling you about the 3 best types of tools you can use:
- Template
- CRM
- Software
Let’s take a closer look at the features of each one and some examples, shall we?
► Database template
I’m probably not telling you anything new if I say that using tools like Microsoft Excel (or Apple’s Numbers) to create your databases is a very good option.
The hard part of creating your databases in Excel is organizing the information and formatting it completely from scratch. But don’t worry, because for this task you can go online and download free templates from sources such as:
- Excelgratis.com
- Uptodown.com
This is usually the option freelancers and small businesses like us go for, because besides being free in most cases, many of the tools used in digital marketing give us our data back in Excel.
► CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A CRM is a more sophisticated management tool that companies tend to use for exactly that: managing their customer database.
Besides bringing all the information together in one place, a CRM has the features you need to segment it optimally according to the needs of the project or business in question.
This tool is slightly more complex to use than a basic Excel template, but less so than software developed for a specific company.
You can also find a good CRM online, bearing in mind that many of them tend to be in English (if you consider that a drawback). Some of the most popular ones are:
- Salesforce
- Hubspot CRM
- Oracle
- Insideview
►Specialized business management software
Finally, let’s go one level up in the world of customer management. Nowadays, companies tend to use specialized software that streamlines entire invoicing or internal logistics processes.
You’ve probably heard of names like SAP, Sage or Soho, as they are some of the most powerful business management tools around today and, of course, they also play a role in creating and organizing customer databases.
In conclusion…
In this article we’ve looked at all the initial considerations, both legal and organizational/operational, you need to keep in mind to create an efficient customer database.
Among the benefits of creating a database, I pointed out being able to access the information easily and also segment it according to your business’s interests. This is something digital marketing in general, and online advertising in particular, increasingly demands of us.
Remember that to build your own database, you’ll need a program or tool to help you manage the information, especially if you work in a team or within a company.
At a basic (and essential) level, you can use free Excel templates and then export them as CSV files to load into your email marketing or social ads campaigns (for example).
At a business level, using a CRM or specialized software such as SAP becomes very important, since a freelancer’s customer base is nowhere near the size of a small business’s or a large organization’s.
How do you manage your customer database? Do you use, or have you heard of, any of the tools I’ve mentioned in this article? Let us know!
A well-organized database is the foundation of good segmentation in email marketing, and it is also key to your lead generation strategy.
Organizing this data well is easier if you rely on a centralized marketing information system.