Databases are a small businesses most our most important marketing tool. The following article discusses how to ensure the data within your database is valid and reliable, how to systematize or automate your database marketing, and how to obtain a useful prospect or mailing list.

Whether you keep your contacts in Outlook, ACT, Goldmine, QuickBooks, Excel or another contact management program, the thing that matters most is that the database needs to be updated - new contacts should be added often, the database should be easily accessed, its content should be accessible in a mail merge process as well as downloadable.

If your database is not in a computer program, you have a problem; you probably are not keeping in touch with your contacts often enough since you cannot even use your data to create a document with a mail merge feature.

It is imperative that you take whatever steps necessary to enter your contacts, business cards, emails, scraps of paper, or other items that contain client/potential client information on them, into a computer application. At the very least, use a program such as Microsoft Excel to build a spreadsheet. If you to not type or feel it might take you too long to complete, DELEGATE this task! Pay someone, such as a Virtual Assistant or administrative type person, to enter and organize your information so you do not have to do this yourself. Remember, doing this type of work does not make you money; you need to be concentrating on increasing your list and making more sales.

Make sure you include a column or category to capture 'where you met them', if they are 'hot, warm or a cold prospect', a 'client, active or non-client', a 'referral source', 'vendor' or other contact. This will allow you to extract data into separate groups and mailing lists since you will need to send different messages to each group.

Prospects will need sales messages, while clients will need additional services and/or touchy-feely messages, while referral sources will need to be asked for referrals and need to know about any new service and/or products your business is offering.

In order to obtain a useful mailing list, I always recommend using a direct mail list company or list broker; I can refer you to one if you need it.

Typically, lists cost about $100 per 1000 names. However, the more criteria you want included, such as demographic or psychographic info, the cost will increase incrementally. It can increase to as much as $300 per 1000. You can also obtain lists in Microsoft Excel format through email, so they are mail merge ready. These can typically be available within two to six business days.

For one of my clients, a shoe store, I acquired a list of women age 30-60 who lived in two specific zip codes AND who had shopped for shoes in the last three months. That is a huge way to really hone in on a specific target audience!

You can obtain a list for almost any target you may have -- attorneys, school administrators, specific age groups, income or geographic areas. It is a great way to increase your database quickly. However, for small business owners, I do always recommend networking in person to build your list the best.

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