Data

Data is currency - information has incredibly high value for almost every business, indeed for many it is their most valuable asset, and yet it is often ignored or forgotten, and is underused more often than not.

Most certainly, within any sales organisation good, targeted data is both critical and of paramount importance.

From previous experience and with High Reach Marketing, I am amazed at the lack of value smaller companies place upon the information they collect or COULD collect.

How often have I discussed a marketing brief with company who are unsure if their current marketing strategy actually works - they are probably running local newspaper ads, have a small web presence, advertise occasionally in glossies and perhaps organise some leaflet dropping. So far so good - but when I ask to see the ROI (Return on Investment) for each marketing campaign - they have no idea! This is often simply because when a customer purchases or contacts them they do not ask how they found them and certainly do not record the detail. If they visit and do not convert to a customer they then dispose of any data they may have collected.

By following this cycle they are committing themselves to a continuous spiral of investing in marketing strategies not knowing if they work or not.

High Reach Marketing recently worked with a client who was unsure if his website actually was searched or if it actually brought in any business. As a test we designed and located a simple printable voucher which was located onto the site - this offered a discount when a customer completed their details and brought it in with them - The client was delighted with the number of vouchers that were collected and was satisfied that their web presence worked - however - when I returned to see what they had done with the vouchers - they had thrown them away! Wasted all of the data collected - missed a golden opportunity to contact these customers in the future with other offers etc.

The loss of Data can be very costly, and can mean the difference between survival and closure. Data loss can have a financial impact on any company - loss of business, low productivity, and the cost of re-creating data. Usually it is caused by simply forgetting to backup, which again highlights that companies undervalue its importance.
During this section we will try to demonstrate what good use and control of data can do for your business.