The contact list is the heart of your sales leads. Having a large number of people on your list, however, is not what determines how well your marketing efforts pay off. Until those leads convert to sales, they are basically just people you know, not customers. In order to really mine a customer contact list, you should have several strategies in place to get to know your customer’s wants, and then find ways to fulfill those wants through promotions and offers.

Categorize Your Contact List

One of the first things that you should do is understand the demographic of the people signing up to your contact list. Maybe you are selling services that would appeal to new graduates. In that case, you should have a clear idea of the number of 2009 college graduates that are on your marketing list and where they can be reached. You should seek to add more of this demographic to your contact list, every chance you get as they will be your best customers.

Another way to categorize the lists is through income levels. Some people will consistently buy lower priced items, indicating a small income, while others are more generous. By watching the buying behavior of the customers on your contact list, you can start to plan promotions that align with their income level.

Contact Your List Frequently

When was the last time you contacted a person on your list? Do you know when they have been contacted or marketed? If you’ve set up different categories and sales plans for those demographics, they should also each have some schedule of contacts whereby they are marketed somewhat frequently. Email is the best way to do this at a minimal cost, however, it shouldn’t be overused and permission to contact someone electronically should always be gotten first. If you want to make sure that no one lands on your list for email marketing without their expressed consent, be sure to use a double opt-in form on your website. It makes them put in their email address and then verify the sign up via that user email. This keeps spam bots and malicious sign ups from occurring and causing you significant problems when people complain about it.

Solicit Their Feedback

A contact list isn’t just to talk to, it should also be listened to, and very carefully. Don’t be afraid to solicit feedback from the get go by asking people who sign up to identify what their needs or wants are, even before they’ve bought something. You can do this by offering a small poll or survey that they can fill out voluntarily in exchange for a discount coupon off their first purchase. The information you receive will be highly targeted and help you to define where your best efforts are when selecting products and services that might appeal to your core audience. In addition, the incentive of a thank you coupon can spur a sale almost immediately, particularly if it is a time-limited offer.