So the hard work
is over. You developed a stellar ad campaign and ran Super Bowl or other advertising on TV, in print, via mobile
SMS text messaging or online and your website is overwhelmed with interested
customers. Fantastic! Now what?
The real
work for most businesses begins at this point. Here are 4 solid steps that must be
completed to see your customers all the way through the sales cycle.
Step 1: Capture. This means customer data,
email addresses, mobile phone and other follow-up information so you can continue to contact
this interested consumer. Find out who they are and what they were looking for!
Step 2: Qualify. Is this lead hot,
warm or just stopping by? Where are they located? Geocoding this customer is the first step so later you can append the nearest business location. Later, you can apply criteria like demographics, previous sales or interactions with your brand.
Step 3:
Disseminate. The trick to building quality relationships with potential customers is about knowing what, when and how to follow-up. This might include: thank you emails or letters, re-routing the lead to the best sales channel or
personnel to handle it, or helping them find the nearest store. Knowing if the customer prefers to be contacted via email or via mobile phone is also critical.
Step 4: Keep Em'
Coming Back. Follow-up with an automated system to send survey requests, offers, or additional information with emails that are triggered by specific events such as time or specific business rules.
The bottom line is that creating a centralized and flexible location-based customer database is an important step to effectively nurture and personalize all your customer interactions. 
