Emerson Direct Response Marketing and it's relationship to Data Base Marketing as it pertains to you and your business

Over the years, Emerson Direct has seen a surprising number of companies who fail to use their "back-end"(their data base) to up-sell and cross-sell their customers following the initial sale. This is almost a given for any online direct response marketing campaign that Emerson Direct Marketing undertakes. The last thing you want to do is allow the customers to purchase, and then allow them to disappear. As a marketer we urge our clients be making a list of all the people who buy, or even inquire, about your product or service, then attempt to sell them related products, services and/or upgrades. We do this in a myriad of ways, which we will now discuss.

At Emerson Direct we brainstorm with you and your salespeople and office staff to find related products. These related products figure into the direct response marketing model due to the fact that are considered cross promotional items. The thinking here is, If you don’t want to sell the related items you come up with yourself, make a deal with someone who does. One option is to Give them the names of your customers in exchange for some sort of profit-share deal. Though we suggest that you protect that data since it is the lifeblood of your company and business. But don’t be afraid to ask for as much as hald in regards to the sale commission. That's how valuable your database is! After all, it’s a sale they probably would never have made without you.

The ability to go back and replace what you sold your customers in the first place is another obvious, but often overlooked, sales opportunity. It's no so much replace as it is "re-sale". You are going back to your valued customer with another product to sell.

The truth is that you don’t necessarily need to make a profit on your initial sale. If you can figure that each customer is worth X amount of dollars in profit to you in the long run, you could afford to lose almost that much to get them as a customer. Think of it this way. How much did it cost you to get the customer as a customer? You must keep in mind the lifetime value of each customer. Otherwise, you may be throwing away thousands of dollars in lost profits. We at Emerson Direct look at this business model as a cost per aquisition deal, so to speak.

Database Marketing

If we haven't told you already, or you have forgotten already, your database is the key to your survival in bad times. Bad times being a major lull in your business. To the extent that you call on a direct response marketing specialist like Emerson Direct. Your database is also the key to maximum profits in good times. The goal of your database should beto maximize customer value through conversion, retention and repeat sales. And, it allows you to create new marketing opportunities.

In today's web 2.0 world, the value of your data cannot be underestimated. Everyone is collecting data on who is, or should be, buying their products or services. This data does not just consist of names and addresses. It includes buying history: what people bought, when they bought, and how much they bought. It also includes birth dates, anniversary dates, marriage status, number and age of children, likes and dislikes. It opens up new ways to market more products and services for consumers, business-to-business marketers, B to C marketers, as well as any and all online marketers and consumers.

Direct Response Data Base Marketing means that there are:

• New ways to market smarter to your customers and reduce the costs.

• New ways to market additional products or services to your customers.

• New ways to keep customers—through extended product usage.

Think of the 80/20 rule. 80% of your business is going to come from 20% of your customers, so you need to know what they are all about and how best to treat them right,

The business market today is changing rapidly and it's an eat or be eaten world. Those who properly master the understanding of how, what and why customers make purchases, and those who are able to influence buying decisions with highly targeted direct marketing efforts— like direct mail, infomercial, telemarketing, etc.—are going to come out on top. Now you can appreciate the importance of thge database.

Whats your database?

Your database is not just a collection of names. It’s a collection of individualized, consumer behavioral information, isolated to each customer and collected by you. The database concept inputs data and generates information that allows for you to selectively target them from a marketing perspective. Your dbase provides you with comprehensive, up-to-date and relevant information about your prospects and/or clients, and will pay for itself quickly with visible, measurable sales.

Below is a list Database points that you should be collecting in some or fashion:

• Name(including all personal data)
• Service needs
• Source of original inquiry
• Job function/title
• Potential profitability
• Sales materials supplied
• Company name
• Readiness to buy
• Cumulative billing
• Company address
• Promotion medium (mail, video, etc.)
• Prospect/customer/friend
• Company phone
• Decision-maker or influential
• Salutation
• Home address
• Data record entered
• Record of contacts by phone
• Home phone
• Data of last order • Total number of promotions received
• Market/industry code

At Emerson Direct, our goal is to help you ultimately develop a high-quality, long-standing relationship of repeat business. With the help of our data base experts in house, we can provide you with proper analysis of your database, which in turn help us to create predictive models to ensure that your direct mail campaign for instance is done selectively and with the right frequency.

The ultimate result for the Emerson Direct customer is that you can provide your customers with what they really want and when they need it. With Emerson Direct's guidance, and properly implemented, you can increase your response rate and lower your cost-per-order. The result for you as a client, is higher profits.

Emerson Direct Examples of what can be derived from a proper database:

The Up-Sell: One of the major benefits of a database is that it enables Emerson Direct to create for you an aggressive up-sel campaign to hit your customer base with What this does is you can: Sell them more of the same product.Sell them a more expensive version of the product. Create continuity or automatic purchases. Our Emerson Direct Interactive Marketing group can show you how effective this can be if it is properly implemented.

The Cross-Sell: Marketing Other Products

Another important feature of database marketing is cross-selling. The Emerson Direct line of thinking is, "What other product can be marketed to your database which can help you secure your relationship with your customer?"

An offshoot of this is that a database also allows you to develop new products, based upon analysis of product/category strengths and buying patterns of brand merchandise and how it pertains to your niche customers that fit the profile.

What Emerson Direct would like to stress to you as a potential client is that Database marketing can be an efficient marketing tool, if it's properly implemented. Why? Because it’s completely accountable. Allowing Emerson Direct Marketing to handle your database marketing needs will increase your profitability. And, it will give you an edge on your competition in the ever expanding global marketplace.

For a free consultation on your direct response marketing business needs and what Emerson Direct can do for your business, you can go to our Emerson Direct Contact page or call us at 239-254-0175. Click here, To find out more about why direct response marketing is important and why it should include Emerson Direct.