1. What are the best practices in managing contact lists? And are there even any “best practices”?
2. Is email still a viable option for building lists in light of CASL requirements?

This ITAC/SMA Marketing & Sales Executive Think Tank was hosted at Symantec Canada in Toronto, Ontario by Anu Vijh, Senior Channel Marketing. The discussion was moderated by Bob Becker, Principal, SMA.

Attendees

• Barnaby Clunie, Manager, Marketing & Communications, Adastra Corporation
• Shimrit Frenkel, Field Marketing Manager, Canada, Check Point Software Technologies
• Steve Proctor, Communications Director, ITAC
• Chub Letenyei, Marketing Program Manager BPM & Portfolio, Marketing Americas, OpenText Corporation
• Sharon Azizi, Director, Business Solutions, Pathway Communications
• Namita Patel, Junior Sales Executive, Pathway Communications
• Ellen Tews, Account Executive, Pathway Communications
• Marnie Middlehurst, Director of Field Marketing, Public Sector, Prophix Software
• Cameron Becker, Manager, Phone Innovations, Public Outreach Fundraising
• Peder Enhorning, President & CEO, Unilytics Corporation
• Michael Smyth, Marketing Database Analyst, Softchoice Corporation
• Anu Vijh, Senior Channel Marketing Manager, Symantec Corporation
• Tanya Aguiar, Canadian Field Event Marketing, Symantec Corporation
• Faye Mattachione, Independent

What We Learned

• We are all struggling with similar database issues; keeping lists clean and up-to-date is cumbersome and costly, but worth the effort for both prospects and clients.
• Impact sales behavior by incenting the sales team to maintain the database properly.
• On LinkedIn, a credible way to message within groups is by using InMail; it is valuable for promoting and building a database.
• Building a LinkedIn Group(s) with your key contacts as members has the advantage of explicit consent for communication and up-to-date contact info.
• Data.com is an effective tool to conduct de-duplication from target market lists.
• There is a three-year grace period for the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

How do you manage your prospect contact list?

• It is easier to manage established relationships with a CRM system than non-established relationships.
• Go back to traditional cold calling, but only of top prospects; otherwise it can be very costly.
• Email exchanges should now include opt-in permission; consider automating it below your signature line.
• Consider the following “three bounce backs and off list” rule to deal with bounce backs.
• Consider hiring a summer student and re-hire as needed.
• Set up an Excel spreadsheet and use LinkedIn to verify data. It is a manual but effective process. Also, use Google to obtain an email address or phone number.
• Automated email responses from contacts can help you grow your base as other contact names may be provided.
• Alternative software to manage prospect and contact lists are Inside View, Eloqua, Data.com and Clean (C-level capability). They are costly.
• Salesforce.com is focused on sales not administration of lists. “Entering data into Salesforce.com is time taken away from sales”.
• Tie incentives such as vacation days, bonuses, and prizes to the sales cycle, to keep target market lists accurate and up-to-date.
• Investigate LinkedIn’s chargeable plans to see if it can generate additional contacts.

How do you manage external list purchases? If possible, discuss accuracy, quality and experience.

• Acquiring new lists can be expensive; moreover they have a high rate of inaccuracies.
• Great experience and high success rate with LinkedIn’s InMail. When a C-level contact reaches out via InMail, there is a 95% response rate.
• Reputable third-party companies are good at obtaining IT contacts.

Considering the new SPAM/CASL legislation, how are you managing email communication with your prospects? (Note: the legislation wording has change from “existing business relationship” to “existing relationship”.)

• Sending emails has stopped; unless there is an existing client relationship.
• Conducting outbound calls is time consuming but provides better results than email communication.
• Worked with legal to incorporate opt-in/out wording to include at the bottom of emails.
• Sending emails to promote tradeshows can become a legal issue because written opt-in consent is needed.
• Must develop an exclusion list to capture opt-out requests.
• Going back to traditional direct mail campaigns has proven to be very successful.
• Have corporate executives provide their key contacts and document their contact opt-in selection and house them in a centralized online location.
• Use targeted messaging to the right contact, from a smaller target market list, versus conducting mass marketing.
• Ensure every email has a standard opt-in and opt-out selection.

Do the challenges of prospect list management and email communications necessitate a closer look at social media networks and groups?

• Participate in LinkedIn groups to encourage dialogue, including asking questions.
• Connect with customers in any way possible, including connecting with extended connections.
• With social media, it is now possible to access new networks and groups previously not available.
• It is easy and valuable to communicate with existing social media groups.
• Drive awareness and engagement by creating useful dialogue — you are your own brand.
• Use LinkedIn and/or Twitter for lead generation to promote an event.
• Social media channels are about relationships with people, not companies.
• Acknowledge events such as an anniversary or promotion — personal engagement is beneficial. Building relationships is key to helping you and your company.