Ten ways to build your database

Top tips and tricks on how you can build your customer database.

Most of us have heard the saying “it is cheaper to gain more business from an existing customer than to develop a new customer altogether”. Email marketing and remarketing campaigns are highly valuable and cost-effective marketing tools. With these, you can send highly targeted messages to your existing customer base. These can include special offers, first-access to new products or services, or behind-the-scenes content which can help build a relationship. To make the most of this specialised marketing, business owners should grow their database at every opportunity.

Here are 10 ways to grow your customer database:

1. Create a ‘sign-up to our newsletter button’ for your website. This allows people visiting your website to easily sign up if they are interested in receiving communications from you. It is good idea to have this button in a prominent location on every page.

2. Create a custom tab on your Facebook page where visitors can sign up to your e-newsletter. The easier you make it for people to sign up, the more likely they are going to be to complete the action.

3. If you have a form at your business for customers to complete, such as a check-in form, have a box where the customer can add their email address, and a check box if they would like to sign up to receive your e-newsletter. These can then be added to your database.

4. If you have feedback forms that a customer can complete following their experience, have an option at the bottom where the guest can fill in their email address if they wish to receive your e-news updates.

5. Run a competition via social media, where part of the entry process is to sign up to your database. This is one of the fastest ways to grow your database quickly, or to get your database kicked off if you are just starting off. The competition can be giving away something you offer at your business.

6. Everybody that purchases from you should get a receipt of some form, so why not print a hyperlink on your receipts for people to sign up to your database? A link can be shortened to be more attractive using a site such as bit.ly.

7. When you send follow-up emails after meeting new contacts at a business event or function, ask if they would like to sign up to your e-newsletter. Alternatively, you could always sign up to the newsletters of your contacts and support their content as much as possible. Not only will you learn something new, you will also create an incentive for them to support you in return.

8. You can run an added-value or discount promotion such as sign up to our database and get a 10% off your product or service, or a free souvenir, free breakfast etc. You can have small paper sign up forms available at your counter that people must complete to receive the promotion.

9. Pop a link to sign up to your e-newsletter in your email signature. This will help to capture some of the people you send emails to, including suppliers, trade, and your customers.

10. Make your e-newsletter content worth reading – so your readers share it and others sign up. Most e-newsletter platforms enable viewers to easily share or forward the content. Your newsletter should add value for the reader, such as provide useful information and insight. Share sneak peeks of your e-newsletter on your social media so people get a glimpse of their value.

Be honest and transparent

Your customer’s personal information should be always be used lawfully and never exploited. New Zealand law states that you cannot simply add anyone to your customer database, and you cannot sell or buy databases without explicit permission of the recipient. You must also ensure they can easily unsubscribe from your communications at any time. Read more on electronic messaging law in New Zealand and sign up to our e-newsletter.