Database Marketing and CRM: Push vs. Pull
I'm often asked if CRM will ultimately replace database marketing as the preferred methodology to build long-term customer value. The question reveals a vendor-induced state of confusion as to what purpose the two disciplines really serve.
Consider these facts:
- In almost all situations, CRM presupposes that the dialogue that you are engaged in was initiated by your customer. The customer takes an action and you respond, attempting to turn the dialogue into a relationship-building (and selling) opportunity. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s smart. It’s usually the right thing to do, but it’s an entirely reactive process. The customer is pulling information from you.
- I know of no one who can afford to sit idly and wait for customers to initiate selling opportunities. It doesn’t happen often enough to drive growth. At its heart, marketing is a proactive exercise. That means you need to push your sales offer to them.
It is the integration of proactive database marketing with reactive customer relationship management that makes the one-to-one connection rewarding for both of you. Your customers respond to an offer when you make it, and you respond to their needs when they ask. When the two converge, the result is a shared experience that completes the marketing cycle.
Being successful in the marketplace is not a matter of choosing whether to be a relationship marketer or a database marketer. In almost all situations, how well your overall marketing works is largely a function of how well you fit the two together.
Written by Richard N. Tooker, VP - Solutions Architect at KnowledgeBase Marketing
