Good marketing planning is a never-ending cycle that doesn’t depend solely on the calendar or on your various channels. Instead, it focuses on customer needs and preferences. The key to this, says Louise Robinson, Sales Director of CG Consulting, is data.
 
A big challenge for marketers and advertisers, and one that's become a must in the age of algorithms, is how to engage with customers. Events have traditionally been a good way for businesses to interact directly with potential customers, but many prove to be failures because the data they are built on is incorrect or outdated, she points out.
 
“Many companies use the same databases over and over again when they are planning their events. This leads to the same people regularly attending their events – many of whom are not the customers they are trying to reach. If they are targeting the wrong people, events are a complete waste of time,” Robinson says.
 
In fact, she points out that all marketing rests on using good data wisely. Whether it’s an ad campaign targeting specific customers, an event requiring the right delegates, or the right mailing list for promotional materials, an effective, clean database providing qualified leads is essential to the success of any marketing campaign. “It’s about adding insight, not just data, so you can contact customers on their terms.”
 
And while many marketing and advertising companies own databases that provide the basis of their initiatives, Robinson says that the pace of business today means that these are often outdated in a relatively short space of time. In addition, most companies don’t have the resources internally to devote the time necessary to ensure that the cleaning and management of the data is done efficiently. Similarly, many businesses lack the time and the manpower to do effective campaign follow-ups such as those required after events to ensure the successful conversion of prospects into customers.
 
Purchasing clean, qualified data from a specialist service provider like CG Consulting is the simplest way to embark on this route. In addition to providing tailored databases for all business-to-business marketing initiatives, the company also provides customer satisfaction surveys, after-event follow-ups, as well as research services. CG Consulting’s years of telemarketing and database profiling have resulted in the compilation of the most accurate, up-to-date, and targeted databases available, including details for thousands of small, medium and large organisations across all industries and verticals in South Africa and across the African continent.
 
“Marketing initiatives – whether they be advertising or events, or anything in between – cost money. Buying the right database can be seen as an additional cost to these generally expensive endeavours, but it a small price to pay to ensure the success of the initiative,” says Robinson. “Especially in the case of events, where most of the focus goes on getting the right venues and the right menus, but ensuring that the right people attend is often ignored, obtaining a good database is not an added expenditure, but a necessity.”
 
In addition, she adds that research built on a good database will further cement the success of any marketing initiative. “Gaining a complete understanding of the target customer is the only way to turn your marketing in a customer-centric direction. Good research provides predictive insights into your customers and prospective customers, allowing you to map out customers’ needs, points of pain, emotional and rational drivers, and channel utilisation habits,” Robinson says. “However, good research rests on good data, so obtaining the correct data is essential to obtaining solid research results.”
 
So ask yourself: can you afford not to buy the right data for your next campaign?