5 reasons to invest in building your marketing database

18 January 2023

Why invest in building your database?

Data is one of your business's most valuable assets. The ability to collect, analyse, and leverage data can give your organisation a significant competitive edge and drive growth.

Here's 5 reasons to invest in building your marketing database:

1. This time, it's personal.

With the rise of big data, companies can collect vast information about their customers, enabling them to personalise their marketing efforts. You get the best deals with a Tesco club card because when you scan it, they get a personalised list of products you like to buy, and can target you with similar ones. It also means they can track consumer demographics and how successful the placement was in their stores.

If they're willing to give you discounts for your data, it will show you how much value it's worth.

2. Decisions, decisions…

Data-driven decision-making has become an essential part of any business.

Companies can make better decisions about everything, including product development, pricing, and marketing strategies, all by collecting and analysing data. From survey results, open rates on emails, and website journeys, you can see what offerings are most likely to go down well, get engagement and most importantly, sell.

If your customers say 'where they found you' was 90% online, and only 10% in your print materials, you can reduce your leaflet spend and put it into digital. Investing more into where most of your customers find you, makes sense.

If your customers feedback on a product but are desperate for something more, you can introduce additional higher-range items to capitalise on. Decisions based on data are more likely to give you the best outcome.  

3. Increased efficiency is the key

Your data can also streamline and automate processes, leading to increased efficiency. For example, by analysing data on customer behaviour, you can identify bottlenecks in your sales process and make changes to improve it. Increase your offering if your customers are likely to add additional products to their basket.

Improving revenue. All from your data. If you have data on when your customers are most likely to want to contact you, you can increase your resources at these times to improve customer satisfaction. Companies that invest in their own data have a competitive advantage over those that don't. It's as simple as that. The more you know, the better decisions you make, the more personalised your offerings can be, and the more improvements you can make to your processes. All of these can lead to increased revenue and market share.  

4. A little now, will save a lot later

Investing upfront in improving your data can also lead to savings in the long run. By identifying patterns and trends in data, you can make adjustments to reduce waste and improve productivity. Also, if you have a strong and loyal database, you can market directly to them, reducing costs in media spend and other routes.

For example, one of our clients, the National Marine Aquarium, launched a Valentine's Dine experience one year. It sold out, and they realised there was a demand for more. They also sold out quickly when they launched their Dine at the Aquarium nights with a limited number of tables. For those who missed out on a table, the Aquarium asked them to sign up for the exclusive Dine at the Aquarium emailing list to be notified about the next event before they went on public sale. Now they've built a core list of people likely to buy. This all stems from building their data. 

5. It's yours; OWN It.

Building your online audiences through your social media channels is always a great way to have contact with people interested in your brand. However, organic reach is dropping more and more, and you must continually invest a budget into advertising on social media platforms just to speak to the audience you've built.

Also, say you've built over 100,000 followers on a platform, then imagine one of the world's wealthiest people buying that platform and changing how it works. Some people might step away from the platform, but you now have an audience in a place you do not own. All that time, money and resource into something you don't own.

That's why spending that time and resource building your data is a much better investment. Not only do you now have direct contact with your audience, but it's also yours to control.

Are you happy with your current data?

Do you analyse your data and make decisions from it? 

How much time and energy do you invest in building your data? 

Are you happy with the number of email addresses on your mailing list? 

Here at Navigate, we've worked with brands across the globe to build their email databases with quality GDPR-compliant addresses and then consulted with them on the next steps for connecting with their new audiences. If you'd like a way to build your own data, get in touch, and we can show you how we've grown email addresses for a considerable number of clients over the past 18 years. 

It is essential to remember that data alone is only valuable if it is used and analysed correctly. Businesses need the right team and technology to make sense of their data and turn it into actionable insights. And we can help. Get in touch