There is no point using old data to win new customers. Yet many prospect databases are surprisingly out of date which can cost your company a great deal of time and money.

Salestracker is the world’s first online database for the window industry that is updated live in real time. As Insight Data’s research team interview a contact on the Insight database, the information is instantly updated on Salestracker. This means every time you want to send a mailshot, email campaign, telesales campaign, or your sales team wants to visit potential customers; you simply log-on and access the most accurate, up-to date information.

Salestracker contains detailed information on 60,000 prospects, including over 15,000 fabricators and installers, with in depth analysis on products, volumes and even preferred window/roof systems. You simply subscribe to the Insight database and regions that are most relevant to your business.

But it’s not just about data. Salestracker is also a web-based CRM system which means you can manage leads, attach quotes or call reports, manage tasks and handle your sales and marketing activity. Salestracker is the only prospect database in the window industry to be developed and managed in-house, rather than using a third-party software supplier.

For more information and a free demo, call 01934 808293 or visit www.insightdata.co.uk

Focusing on new business is high on the agenda for most suppliers, yet finding new trade customers isn’t as difficult – or expensive – as you may think.

In the last few years, specialist companies have emerged providing in-depth market intelligence combined with management systems that helps companies not just identify new prospects, but actively convert them to paying customers. One such system is Salestracker.

If you’re planning on taking a much more interactive approach to manage sales and marketing activity, then there are five golden rules that you need in a good web-based system such as Salestracker;

1. Add your own records. As well as the prospect data, you’ll probably have a number of your own contacts and customers you want to add to the system to keep all your information together in one place.

2. Attach documents. You will want to attach mailshots, quotes, call reports, price lists or other documents to the prospects and customers you are dealing with.

3.Sales pipeline. There is no such thing as just a “prospect”. A sales pipeline enables you to progress a prospect from initial contact through to meetings, proposals, follow-up and commitment, and project sales volume.

4.Task Management. A good task management tool will enable you to set tasks for yourself or others, track quotes, and chase prospects with an automatic email reminder system.

5.Campaign Management. Your system should enable you to create and manage campaigns and update all records automatically.

Lest we forget you also want a system that is intuitive so users can instantly create a list of prospects by products, materials (e.g. PVCu), size and location, and use this data for direct mail, telesales, email marketing or as a call list.

The moral of the story is, if you’re serious about winning new customers in 2011, having a powerful prospect database is an invaluable tool, and choosing the right database provider can make all the difference. This is where Insight Data come in…

For more information on Salestracker contact Insight Data on 01934 808293 or visit www.insightdata.co.uk

Don’t forget you can also follow us Insight on Twitter at www.twitter.com/insightdata

2011 looks set to be another tough year for the window and conservatory industry. With low consumer confidence, worries over job security and a hike in VAT, installers will find it increasingly difficult to maintain sales levels. As a result, many installers are diversifying into other home improvements.

But what of the supply chain behind these installers? With lower volume, suppliers must also diversify or finding new customers will come to a standstill. Customer acquisition will also be high on the agenda in most boardrooms across the UK.

There is some good news however. Innovation and improvements in technology mean the way companies target new customers has changed. The days of sales people tearing up motorway miles have long gone. Insight Data has transformed the way companies find new customers and create new opportunities. Our in-depth databases of window and conservatory fabricators and installers, local builders, architects, roofline installers and IGU manufacturers will help you target new customers quickly and cost-effectively.

Using market intelligence and ground-breaking technology your marketing costs are reduced and sales performance dramatically improved. Insight Data have the tools to help you maximise your marketing strategy and grow successfully in 2011.

For more information call 01934 808 293 or visit www.insightdata.co.uk

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But is it hurting your business?

It was Charles Caleb Colton who first said “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” way back in the 19^th Century.  Yet, it seems to be alive and well in the 21^st Century, whether its in fashion, music, or business.

It is, of course, a tribute to the success of individuals or companies when others copy them. In business, small companies will often copy market leaders, aspiring to have their level of success.  Of course, this rarely happens, as it is the research, development, innovation and investment that creates the market leaders in the first place, and by the time others try to copy and catch-up, market leaders will already have moved on.

Take Insight Data.  Established in late 2006 the company became firmly established as the leading supplier of prospect data to the window industry within three years, overtaking companies established well over 10 years.

We were the first window industry supplier to provide data with monthly updates, and a year later our competitors followed suit.  By then, we had already invested £150,000 in developing Salestracker, the World’s first online prospect database for the window industry, back in 2008.  One small competitor reacted by attacking us, claiming that users should avoid web-based systems and stick to traditional desktop formats such as MS Access. Yet, two years later they have been forced to shamefully back-track and introduce a basic online version of their own databases, managed by a third-partyIT company for them.

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery but in business it can be a dangerous game. Imagine if your suppliers simply copied products from the market leaders without the vision, innovation or investment to “paddle their own canoe”.  Your business will always trail behind your competitors who put their trust in those visionary companies who do invest, who do innovate, and who do lead the market.

At Insight Data, we have continued to strengthen our position further as market leader.  By developing Salestracker in-house with our own software team we’ve already launched the next generation packed with advanced new features that help our customers win millions of pounds in new business.  We’ve invested in a state-of-the-art telephone research centre to ensure our customers have the most accurate, up-to-date market intelligence, and we’ve invested in a direct mail fulfilment centre and digital marketing studio so that our customers benefit from the very best of off-line and on-line marketing. And we’re investing in the future – in new technology, innovation, new databases and better ways of doing business.

Think carefully about choosing suppliers who simply imitate. While as market leaders, we appreciate the flattery, if you want your business to stay ahead of the game – instead of playing catch-up – perhaps the wisest move is to team up with those suppliers who do lead from the front.

For more information on how we help clients win new customers and stay ahead of their competitors, call 01934 808293 or visit www.insightdata.co.uk

WHS Halo is the latest big name to subscribe to Insight Data’s architects and specifiers database, opening up a market worth £31.372 billion a year (according the Office of National Statistics) and giving them an opportunity to further cement their position as one of the UK’s leading system companies.

Containing the contact details of 15,000 professionals in the building industry, the database allows WHS Halo to target architects early in the specification process, giving them a greater chance of having their products written into the architects design.

“The nature of the commercial market means it makes sense to get your products in front of architects at a very early stage” comments Gerald Allen, WHS Halo’s Marketing Manager. “This new database contains the details of the people we need to target and allows us to contact them through by phone, fax, direct mail or email – giving us a great opportunity to get a slice of the massive £31.372 billion on offer.”

Helen Costeloe-Hughes, Insight Data’s Commercial Director comments “the commercial database is accessed online meaning WHS Halo can simply log on and instantly pinpoint architects specialising in key sectors such as housing, education, health, retail, or leisure and if necessary, drill down further into sub-sectors such as social housing or schools. The system also has a built-in Contact Manager so they can track marketing campaigns, record notes and follow up leads effectively.”

Insight Data have recently reported a surge of companies signing up to the architects and specifiers database, highlighting how more companies are beginning to move into the commercial market in search of potential customers. “Fenestration plays an important role in the aesthetic and functional design of most commercial, public sector and residential buildings” comments Insight’s Helen Costeloe-Hughes. “And with changes to the Building Regulations meaning that architects need to design carbon neutral buildings, they are very willing to receive marketing material on the latest glazing products. Our customers are using our architects database to take advantage of this and to move into this lucrative new market.”

Contact Insight Data on 01934 808293 or visit www.insightdata.co.uk

Revenue is being hit because companies are failing to put in place sufficient measures to ensure email marketing messages are delivered, according to the Direct Marketing Association.

A white paper by the Association’s Email Marketing Council says bad practice is putting marketing strategies at risk and damaging ROI.  To view the white paper in full click here.

The document outlines “ten steps to improved deliverability” including taking measures to improve data collection, monitor sender protection, reduce SPAM complaints and introduce “good list hygiene”.

So what happens to companies in the window industry who want to carry out an email marketing campaign but don’t have the time or resources to follow ‘best practice’ guidelines? According to Pete Fealey, head of Insight Data’s email marketing division, using a specialist agency to carry out your campaign is the ideal solution, saving time and money.

“Insight Data provides clients with an email marketing service that generates leads and gives excellent delivery rates and ROI” explains Pete. “Now companies in the window industry have the opportunity to target their prospects in a digital medium without the hassle of managing the campaign themselves. ”

Insight Data has developed Mailminx, a dedicated email system that dramatically reduces the number of emails caught by SPAM filters and junk email folders, ensuring more emails get through to the intended recipient.

“Instead of sending our 5,000 emails in one go – a strategy which will result in getting blocked by Internet Service Providers – we ‘stagger send’ our emails” explains Pete. “We also INBOX test all our messages against various email clients such as Outlook, AOL, and GMail to ensure consistency, and format emails to take into account the “viewing pane” on Outlook.

While research shows email data degrades on average 5% a month, Insight Data’s full time team of researchers continually cleanse the data and keep it up-to-date.

“Managing an email database is simply too time consuming for a busy window company” Pete comments. “Our full-time team of researchers refresh the database every day, saving our clients a lot of time. We currently hold 50,000 email addresses of people operating in the window, conservatory and building industry, meaning you can reach a broad section of your target market and win their business.”

For more information contact Insight Data on info@insightdata.co.uk, by telephone on 01934 808293 or visit http://www.insightdata.co.uk/Emarketing.htm