Database Creep
No, this is not that guy with nerdy glasses who works in the office by the bathrooms. Think along the lines of mission creep…
So you have this fabulous idea to promote a new product or service to your existing clients and perhaps some prospects that you would like to see as clients. Everyone in the company is excited and confident that it is going to work . . . until someone dives into the customer database and discovers that some clients are still listed as prospects and some ex-clients are still listed as clients and . . . well, that fabulous idea is going to have to wait until someone volunteers to work overtime to get the database back in shape. I guess the air has been let out of that balloon.
Now you are questioning whether the contact names and email addresses are accurate and everyone is too busy to take time out for this overwhelming project. Several years pass and the new guy that you hired has this really great idea. So you tell him, “we were going to do that years ago but our database isn’t really current.” Geez. Several years later? What state of disrepair must the database be in by now? Talk about a missed opportunity. Or two. Or three.
Basically, your database begins falling apart the minute it is set up, and since it has the potential to become one of your company’s most powerful tangible assets, it makes sense to keep it current. Remember, your database has actual MONETARY value when it is up to date! So answer honestly: if your database was a building, in what part of town would it be located? Main Street? Down by the tracks? Under a bridge? Would it be freshly painted or tagged with layers of graffiti?
If you aren’t maintaining your database, ask yourself: why do you have one? When you have someone who takes responsibility for the company database, regular maintenance is a much more manageable task. And the payoff is unmistakable: you have, at your fingertips, at any moment, the accurate client data you require to run your business the MOST effectively. What might have happened if you had run that promotion several years ago? A 20% increase in sales? What if you had run one each year? Where would your overall sales be by now? No matter how big the task seems, updating and maintaining your database is worth it. And once you get there, let us know and we’ll put it to good use!
Keesha Davis