Your company might also see low morale due to these fruitless marketing campaigns, increasing the risk of sales employee turnover — which is at an all-time high with over 40 million people quitting their jobs in November 2021.
However, there are several creative database maintenance tips that not many people know. By utilizing these secret yet highly effective methods, you can keep your database clean and your marketing campaigns going strong. Take a look at these little-known tactics to improve your email list.
1. Take Advantage of OOO Replies
You can glean valuable information from out-of-office replies. Usually, people will include a colleague’s contact information in their automated OOO email reply in case anyone needs to reach out to them.
Your sales team can take advantage of this information, copying the additional contact information from OOO emails and putting it under the companies they are prospecting in their database. This is called email appending. Pro tip: Make sure you validate the new data by sending an introductory message.
2. Implement Routine Tracking
Put your new users — not just new hires, but all new users — through routine training every quarter. Reinforce database standards, such as when it’s appropriate to input new contacts; how to avoid duplicates; or your bounce handling policy. By teaching new users these best practices up front, you’ll save time and effort by not having to fix mistakes later.
Showing consistency and outlining a clear plan of action moving forward will help sales teams remember what you want them to do while handling the database. Be proactive in teaching everybody basic database standards.
3. Manage Contact Entry
List the key pieces of data that are needed before a lead is added to the database, such as name, email address, and phone number. You can configure your database so it requires those specific data fields to be filled out before a new contact will officially save.
Incomplete leads should be stored on a simple Excel/CSV file. That way, your sales team won’t have to worry about excluding any opportunities; they can circle back around to those leads at a future date. And most importantly, your database stays clean.
Why Clean Data Is So Important
Maintaining a good database is essential for a few different reasons. First, it allows you to conduct better reporting and have improved analytical insight. A clean database also boosts productivity and efficiency because you won’t have to waste time making corrections. It will improve email deliverability and give you deeper insight into your leads.
At the end of the day, better data means better outreach – helping your marketing and sales teams work more effectively as they seek to generate leads and sales. And since companies have a 60-70% higher chance of selling to existing clients compared to a 5-20% chance of selling to new clients, prioritizing database cleanup can boost ROI.
Let Extu Handle Database Management
Extu uses Campaign Monitor to pinpoint everything from duplicate contacts to invalid email addresses to prevent databases from becoming disorganized. We help companies maintain their databases and keep them up to date. That way, you can reap the benefits of clean data while focusing your time and energy on what really matters: running a successful business.
Plus, we offer other helpful services in addition to maintaining company databases — such as creating customized content that can be used for enterprise-grade marketing.
Want to learn more about how Extu can help boost your marketing campaigns? Reach out to our team via our IT partners or brokers program page.
