Month: February 2021

Remember a few months ago when our offices used to be littered with business cards, and our inboxes were packed full of useful details about suppliers, clients, and business contacts? The problem with this is that each touchpoint holds different information, and so the data you collect on certain individuals, clients or competitor companies become fragmented and fractured. Not to mention the lack of access to all this information since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Many of us still operate in this way – but there IS a better way. 

Having a database is like taking all of that crucial and useful information about all those different contacts and putting them all into one easy-to-manage place. Provided you get it right, it allows for super easy tracking of any user type or customer category and makes business operations simple to follow. 

Of course, the benefits come once you have a fully-functioning database up and running – so how do you get to that stage where the benefits outweigh the work required?

What does an effective and efficient database look like?

The best databases are those which are built AFTER answering the following question:

What are you hoping to gain by building a database, and how are you going to use it?

Once you know this, you can build something which is integrated with your website and which collects the kind of data that you will find useful in the long run – rather than capturing tons of data for the sake of it. (And if you don’t fancy building and integrating all that by yourself, you can always reach out to our team of data lovers for a little bit of support!)

In short, the best kind of database is one that is tailored to your business needs. 

As a creative company, for example, you might like to know what your core client looks like, and what kind of creative support they are looking for – i.e., with the rise of online experiences, are you finding that more and more enquiries are about eCommerce design and how to fuse online and offline experiences?

Here at Slate, one of OUR biggest focus points through our own database is on establishing location and company size, as we market ourselves as a local business agency and so tailor much of our marketing campaigns to the local business audience. 

Once you have answered that key question, the next steps are all around building a database that delivers the information you need to know. 

The steps you need to take to earn a 5-star database

One of the first things to do when you build your database is to ensure it integrates with your website or mailing list in the right way. 

For a customer database, the likelihood is that you will want to know who is on your mailing list, who is opening your emails regularly, which of them are clicking through to email links, and how many of them are actually converting into making enquiries or purchasing from your website. All of these break down into different touchpoints on the core customer journey from nurture to purchase, and with the help of a database, you can gain vital insight into what those people look like and how long it takes for them to convert. 

For a business operations database, the internal workings are the same – just with slightly different information. For example, you may need to know what stock you have left, what has been recently ordered, when you last ordered something, and how many weeks or months go by before you need to reorder. 

Both of these examples highlight the fundamental usability of a good database in delivering you the information you need – when you need it. And it all comes down to integration and ensuring your database is fully paired up with the right information. 

And then we come to maintenance. A bit like hoovering the house and cleaning the bathroom, maintenance is something we know we need to do, but we are reluctant to channel time and energy into doing it – particularly if we feel that the information is for our eyes only and so doesn’t matter to the client. 

But this is where we are wrong. If you don’t maintain and clean-up your database on a regular basis, the information will fast become outdated and clients and suppliers will start to receive communications from you that no longer relate to them – or you will continue to monitor the stock levels of something you discontinued months ago. 

Database maintenance is another service you can easily outsource to an organisation focused on customer growth and retention, or you can dedicate time once a month to trawl through and cut out any irrelevant or dead leads. 

Nurture your database today for the benefit of your business tomorrow

Learn to use your database as a business lifeline, and pretty soon the benefits of building and maintaining it will become clear. So much so that one day soon, you won’t know how you lived without it.

For more on how to build and optimise your database for the best possible outcomes, whether it’s an operational database or a customer relationship database, get in touch with our team at info@helloslate.co.uk

With March 2021 marking the start of our national rollout from lockdown and all the business decisions that have come with it, companies around the country are finally starting to channel energy into mapping out a reopening plan.

Whether your business operates in the social sphere, the hospitality sector, the corporate world or the retail sector, it is more important than ever to now put time and energy into bringing customers back through the doors and finding ways of keeping both customers/clients and your team members safe.

As a web design and digital marketing agency, we have spent the past 12 months working with companies and organisations across every touchpoint of every industry. We have seen businesses turning to technology and the online world for the first time; we have created online transaction functions for countless companies; we have support and set up more social media and online user strategies than we can possibly track. But one area that businesses now need to focus on is the reopening of their physical presence – and that means working relationships, building up new partnerships, and finding new ways to reach customers and clients.

Why now is the time to keep it local

Throughout the pandemic, one of the biggest messages being shared across social media and beyond was the concept of shopping small and supporting local businesses as much as possible. From purchasing takeaways from local pubs to organising delivery of eggs and meat from the local farm shop, consumers have no doubt changed the way they shop during the pandemic and are likely to leave the pandemic with a commitment to continuing their support of local shops and village makers.

But where does that leave the corporate and business world? Aside from buying the office milk from the local village shop, what else can we do to keep small businesses running?

It all comes down to where you source your goods from. Here at Slate, one of our business aims has always been to keep our suppliers as local as possible. Not only does that mean we are supporting businesses in our locality, but it also allows us to build real working relationships with the people behind the supplies, and for us that is the essence of a successful and reputable business. A great example is our ongoing supplier relationship with Chandra Sharma at Tangent Office Resources, who deals with all our office needs and will be the first go-to when the team can finally start coming back to work from our Slate HQ.  Chandra and his team have supplied everything from everyday stationery requirements through to Printers and Marketing/Point of Sale items – all top quality, a great price and amazing personal service.

For us, it’s also about working with individuals who we can speak to directly (either in person or via a Zoom call) and who we trust with our company name. Whether we’re looking to bring in someone to perform a service for us, outsourcing the hiring of a new team member, or seeking somewhere to deliver a great team lunch, by keeping our contacts as local as possible we can support local business and always receive the level of service we expect, and which keeps us connected.

What can you do?

If you find yourself reading this blog, the chances are that you are in the market for some online support – whether it be with your digital marketing, your website build, or your overall online strategy.

Aside from continuing your work with Slate, your local online gurus, here are just a few ways in which you could consider supporting local businesses as you bolster your business online and reach customers in new ways.

1. Don’t use online stock images – instead, hire a local photographer, get out and about in your local area, and take your own website shots. Depending on your area of business, these could range from atmospheric setting shots to team photos. The important thing to note is that by keeping personal and local, you immediately give your business more of a personality and allow clients and customers to relate to you.

2. If you outsource a service, find out if someone in your local area can do that service for you. From writing to social media support, you would be amazed at how many people successfully manage these kinds of businesses from their own home – and if you keep it local, you can really build a strong working relationship with that person and ensure that they know your brand and your tone of voice as well as you do.

3. And finally, it doesn’t just have to be your office suppliers and services you keep local – whenever you do something as a team, keep that as local as possible too and really put what you can into supporting the reopening of your surrounding hospitality services. From drinks after work to team days out, hospitality needs your support now more than ever!

For more on how to bring your business to life online, get in touch with us at the click of a button! (And if you’re in the market for office supplies or POS material, we would of course highly recommend Tangent Office Resources!)