Database
informationReduced
marketing
costsSuperior
business
forecastingMore
business per
customerWho?When?What?How
much?Where?Why?578 The Marketing Book
better identification and segmentation of
customers;
greater personalization and more relevant
offers.
For example, customers giving high value
orders and paying promptly may receive spe-
cial treatment. Offers may reflect customers’
specific interests.
Superior business forecasting is achieved
by analysing campaign and customer history
data, using past performance as a guide to
future performance. Because the errors in past
activities need not be repeated, efficiency
should be subject to continuous improvement.
The database answers six questions
At its simplest, the database is the heart of an
information system that answers the six simple
questions shown in Figure 22.5 every time
interaction occurs.
Who?
name and contact data;
status (e.g. customer or prospect);
associations (i.e. same household or company
as another customer);
credit status (if relevant).What? order or enquiry;
item(s) ordered;
product category;
in stock/out of stock.Where? sales channel;
branch or media code.The system should allocate a unique reference
number (URN) or alphanumeric code to each
customer. This enables customer queries to be
answered all the more quickly, the URN guid-
ing service and sales staff to the customer
record or transaction details.
The system will recognize whether an
order is a repeat order from an established
customer or a first order from a new
customer.Figure 22.4 The customer marketing database Figure 22.5 The customer marketing database
answers six questions