Social media is popular, but in my book nothing, NOTHING beats having your own database of clients and prospects to market to. In fact when Facebook maven Mari Smith (152,298 Facebook likes) started a weekly email newsletter (probably in sync with the difficulty of getting updates to fans), it put a huge smile on my face.
I have three golden rules of creating and working a database. How many are you following?
Read also:
• Four FREASY strategies for doing it smarter
• A great idea for quiet times
Rule One: Never let a valid prospect go
Never let a viable prospect, referrer or customer go. By this I mean not putting them on your database. You spent time (networking, good customer service) or money (advertising, website development) to get them.
Don't throw the effort or money away by losing them. Communicating with them will bring in more business. Please also remember to include your business referrers in your database and communications too. It's just as important to keep note of them.