OUR CAPABILITIES: Database Development & Management

Every picture tells a story… and so does data. Most organizations have more data than they think, and many fail to take full advantage of the insights that can be gleaned from looking carefully at the patterns that can be found in data. We work with our clients to clarify the information they have, identify the information they need, and use this information to drive marketing and communications initiatives that deliver results.

In most situations, effective marketing is about honing in on the right number of the right prospects in the right market segment. Our approach begins with defining the results we want to achieve, and then building the data-driven approach that will get us there.

• A college wants to enroll a class of 500 first-year students. The typical approach begins with a mass mailing to 100,000 or 150,000 or even more prospects, 99% of whom are unlikely to enroll. A data-driven approach focuses the search criteria at the front end, directs marketing materials and information to a smaller prospect pool more likely to respond, and encourages the most appropriate prospects to apply and enroll. A smaller initial marketing effort can often lead to significantly more cost-effective recruiting.
  
• A non-profit organization needs to increase the support it receives from individual donors. The annual fund director knows how to segment messages to LYBNTs and SYBNTs using data from the organization’s gift records, but does not have time for the data mining required to identify characteristics and indicators of higher giving potential.
  
• A business has a high success rate moving prospects from inquiry to sale. Purchasing marketing lists has not yielded significantly more inquiries. An analysis of the customer base and the inquiry pool can provide insight into how to better identify the characteristics by which to purchase prospect data.

In any situation, we work with our clients to specify the goal, identify the key indicators of potential, and manage the acquisition, use and maintenance of data to target marketing efforts on the most likely potential customers. In most cases, we identify ways to focus more effective marketing communications on a smaller, more carefully-selected prospect pool.