Buying the Right Prospecting Data

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The right data list makes all the difference in prospect marketing. In order to build your client base you need to figure out which clients are the best prospects for your business. So here are a few tips to make sure when you buy consumer data you get the most bang for your buck!

First, Know Your Prospect

Before purchasing any list, make sure you know what you want and why you want it. At Synergy, we can help you determine which potential clients are ideal for your business and budget. Nowadays, data lists can be sorted by countless qualifiers, so understanding to whom you are marketing is critical before you start contacting data companies. You have to know what your looking for since some companies specialize their services for specific industries.


Before you start looking, you need to know who you are looking for!

Consider your potential client's perspective, I.E. What makes your business a perfect fit for their needs - from the prospect's perspective? According to the Aberdeen study on the science of sales intelligence, 42% of companies have insufficient knowledge of the business needs of their prospects. So do the preparatory work before you start looking at data, it'll save you time and money in the long run.

Not All Data Lists Are Equal

Make sure you check out different companies and ask about different options. Find out how the data company generates their list so that you know its the right prospects for your business. Take advantage of the services data companies offer such as sorting and cleaning.

Remember, your not buying a list for one-time use, it's an investment in your company!

Use Multiple Sources

When buying a prospecting list, it should come from multiple data sources. Check with the data company to see where they get their information. Data lists complied from multiple sources tend to be:

• More accurate
• More detailed
• Unique (So your competition can't mail to the same list!)

Keep It Clean

Data lists are like gardens, if you don't tend to them, they will die. Buy a prospect list from a company that automatically updates the list for you on a regular basis. If that is not an option, we can manage your list for you!

According to the United States Postal Service, the quality of a data lists deteriorates by approximately 2% a month, so make regularly updating your list a habit so that you won't waste time and money advertising to a dead end. 

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By: Will Pearlman

YOUR ON MY LIST..... please?

Recently, while browsing the net, I stumbled upon a website that politely requested I "get on their list." And while I can appreciate the sentiment of the company wanting to keep in touch and make sure that they are regularly communicating with their online community, having someone tell me "I'm on their list" makes me think they have a hit out on my head. 

So maybe not everyone immediately jumps to assassination when opting into a mailing list, but it is harder and harder for companies to grow an internal database of opted in prospects who want to hear the news and offers about a given industry. People are more and more protective of personal information, and even enticing offers, giveaways, and "member only" specials are not enough to get people to provide that precious contact information. 

Getting in touch doesn't have to be a struggle though. There are a few ways to encourage opt ins to an internal list for future direct mail and email campaigns.

Email Marketing: Who, What, When, Where, and Why?

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The dawn of the digital has keep marketing experts well... busy to put it lightly. New methods of communicating seem to arrive everyday, and sometimes its a struggle just to keep up, but since its beginnings, Email has been one of the worlds favorite ways to keep in touch. It is available virtually all over the globe, and most people have instant inbox access on their cell phones. Because it is a quick, easy, and cheap way to broadcast a message to an audience, email has become a virtual Pandora's box for marketers, filling up inbox's and clogging spam filters everywhere. With all of the ads, spam, and general "bad emailers" recipients have gotten good at using opt outs, spam filters, and bounce backs leaving marketers and business owners all but banished from electronic mailboxes everywhere. Consumers are on guard against the over-communicators, unsolicited, and poorly planned, but that doesn't mean that marketers should abandon the hopes of reasonable response rates on marketing emails, it just means that marketers need to be clever and more effective in planning. 

The 5 W's of Effective Email Planning

Just like when writing a paper in school, it is important to consider Who, What, When, Where, and Why to send an email campaign. To "Batch and Blast" or "load and Send" email campaigns simply doesn't work any more, email marketers need to strategize and keep in mind the goals of the company's overall marketing strategy and then utilize email marketing as a means to achieve them.

Stop Interrupting me. Seriously. It's rude.

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Even the most adorable brand image
can irritate the wrong demographic.

I grew up with 3 younger brothers. And while it was a brilliant, exciting, and a busy way to grow up, dinner time will forever be known in my parents’ house as the witching hour. When food finally hit the bellies of three excited little men, a quiet chatter of booger stories, entree swaps, and tales from the sandbox, would grow into a roar of armpit farts and hysterical giggles. Then about halfway through the meal, mom, exasperated at trying to carry on a conversation, would finally holler "STOP INTERRUPTING ME! IT'S RUDE!" And the roaring boys would scale back their commentary to a temporary whisper, allowing the adults a few brief minutes in which to enjoy their meal.

Well times have changed and my three little men are no longer so little, they are now 3 strapping athletes, that can hold their tongues (and booger stories) until after dinner. But I could not help but to be reminded of many dinners past and moms' fervent enforcement of table manners while I was watching my favorite TV show recently... Without TiVo (queue ominous music).

Literally every time something exciting happened the station would flip on five minutes of the most obnoxious TV commercials I have endured (due to the aforementioned TiVo, commercials are immediately and righteously obliterated with my lightening quick fast forward finger). Mom's mantra repeated itself in my head. But unfortunately for me, brands are far tougher to convince of manners than my brothers seemed to be.

It got me thinking. Perhaps, it might be good for marketing departments everywhere to take a lesson from dear old Mom.

Are You a Spammer?

No Marketer wants to think of their emails being viewed as SPAM- but with out a decent definition of what recipients consider SPAM its hard to follow the rules. This great infographic from www.flowtown.com is a great resource to utilize when planning email campaigns (Double click to expand the image in your browser).

Creating YOUR Image, Online

When most people think of social media networking, they think of the hours of entertainment their own facebook or twitter account provides while they peruse photos and read about current events through tweets and status updates. But there is a different side to social media, and while it might be a bit slower to emerge on the scene, social media has exploded as the new, cost effective, instant, track-able, and viral marketing tactic. While it all seems like fun and games, businesses and professionals alike can not afford not to get on board the social media bandwagon.

".....But, how?" is the question I am often posed with. Creating the pages requires little technical saavy, an email account is usually all you need, and most of the top sites will walk you through the brief set up process. The question usually does not pertain to the technical component, but more how to best present ones image in an appealing, creative way that will not get lost among the masses of profiles and blogs.  In an attempt at a quick answer, here are a few things to consider as you navigate the process of building your online profile. 

1. What is your objective for the site? 
• Whether your goal is to drive people to an online store or blog, keep customers aware of current events/ sales, build brand awareness, (or for personal use, networking, secure clients, get a better job) makes sure you know your goals and prioritize them prior to setting up the page. Space is often limited and it will help you to narrow down what is really important to say
2. Who are you? What are your specialties, what can you provide others can not? 
• Answer all of those questions in as close to one sentence as you can get. This is the hardest part, but easily the most important. Be concise. This is the hook you will use to draw views in so they search for more about you.  There is no need to cram a ton of information in here, just enough to entice. Never forget the importance of sounding confident, it is OK to brag a little here. 
3. Heres the kicker-  Community and Content
• These two go hand in hand. It is useless to have thousands of contacts that don't know you or have no use for your services, and it is just as bad to have very few contacts who know you well. As with direct mail or any direct marketing for that matter, you need to make sure that you are getting your message into the hands of your target demographic. 

• Browse through the countless sites (here is a great list of them by category) pick the most relevant. There are of course, the Generic sites which most any demographic, facebook, twitter, linkedin, and blogger are my favorites. Once you've picked your platforms ( using more than one creates a more dynamic image, even if you are only consistent about one or two) Start connecting! 

• Start with people you know, coworkers clients, customers, customers, colleges, even family members to help get you started. 
• Now, spread the word about your new page! Advertise that you are out there (think emails, in store mentions, special offers exclusively through social media sites), and you will be surprised how quickly it catches on. 
• The real secret to social media success, in simple: once you have created the pages, USE THEM! Even if it is as simple as on status update a day... it keeps you active and makes sure that people are seeing your site. 
• Never underestimate the power of a picture. Attach them to important updates and you'll catch some eyes. 
• It is OK to be bare for a while. It takes a few weeks/ or months for the page to fill up. Content comes organically as you connect to friends and subscribers. 
• Here is a list of great ways to generate contents for a blog, but I think they are relevant for a social media page as well.