We've all been there - invested money in sign-up forms, breathed a sigh of relief when our subscriber numbers exceeded our expectations. People are opening our emails, heck some are even clicking through to our site! Job done - right? Wrong.

You may be aware of the 80/20 rule which professes that twenty percent of input results in eighty percent of overall output. In business terms this is most commonly expressed as 20% of customers contribute 80% of return on investment (ROI). It is little surprise then that it is crucial to nurture and add value to this group of customers as it costs less to do so than acquire new customers. 7 times less in fact.

So if we can apply this rule to social scenarios, shouldn't we be putting that into context in our database and email communication strategy?

The importance is on quality over quantity.

Sure it's great to boast a database of 10,000+ who receive weekly circulations of your e-newsletter…but what percentage open this and essentially provide ROI to the activity?

To ensure you maximise your communications, keep costs down, and achieve ROI it is important to review your database for accuracy, clearly identify hot leads, and reduce inactive and uninterested ones.

As marketers, we spend a lot of time and money developing databases, segmenting lists (based on specific data capture forms/criteria), and tailoring messaging to our data lists.  All of this effort to be lost in cyberspace with poor open and click through rates. Essentially, when it comes to eCRM, the same care and consideration should be given to thequalityof the customer as to the message.

How do I clean my database?

Of course every data list and eCRM system has different functionality and limitations and the physical clean-up will differ dependant on these factors. What I can tell you; however, are a few key dos and don'ts when approaching data cleansing.

DO:

• Spend time reviewing your database quality
  • Dependant on size of database and internal resource this should be carried out at least every 6 months.
  • Common criteria of 'unclean' databases include invalid email addresses, user input errors e.g. [email protected], etc.

• Identify your hot and cold leads.
  
  • A reactivation campaign has the potential to remind your customers of why they signed up in the first place. Those interested will stay, those not will leave.

• Standardise your data capture forms
  
  • Ensure that you receive the data for all required fiels in every instance. This keeps all customer records complete and accurate making segmenting on certain attributes more accurate and easier to manage.

•  Deliver
  
  • If your site says "sign up here for our weekly newsletter" then make sure to send a newsletter or value-added email each week.

•  Keep email content engaging and relevant to the database/segment

DON'T:

• Add to the problem
  • There is a temptation to upload customer lists without reviewing first. This gives you the opportunity to find errors, eliminate false/incorrect data, and avoid adding more 'waste' the database.

• Cut your losses
  • Wherever possible,  opt 'cold leads' out of all broadcasts - you never know when they may come back and the customer history/record that you have invested in building up will be vital if and when they do

Remember...

A cleaner database leads to a healthier ROI. Reduce your cost per send for erroneous data and cold leads to get the most of your activity. Whilst it may seem easier to completely give up on the data that isn't giving you results, consider the initial investment in acquiring this data beforehand.