One of the most valuable and prized assets within your organization is your client list or your database of customers. So many companies treat it like it’s the Colonel’s Secret Recipe. It’s kept inside a vault, or at least it seems that way, since you really only interact with a tiny percentage of that database.

Building a client list takes time and often comes at a significant financial cost. Unless you’re using a structured database or CRM system, how well is that list being managed or preservedI joined a firm a few years ago as their Vice President of Business Development. Two days after coming on board, a sales person left the company. The firm was using an ACT contact management tool. The employee was working remotely and had his database running locally on his machine. When he sent his laptop back to the home office, he had deleted the database, which was not retrievable. The file wasn’t being backed up (though everyone believed it was) and the tool they were using put them in a vulnerable position. Not only was there no record of any client interaction, a sizeable portion of the current client contacts was lost. Accounting had record of any clients billed, but that didn’t give the correct operational contacts or any other sales related information.

Beyond how the data are stored, how such information is used is often an issue. So few companies keep their clients engaged through a newsletter or some sort of structured marketing campaign. With today’s email services and auto responders, it’s possible to even automate a touch system which is professional, powerful and seamless. Still, most companies in marketing research don’t take advantage of such methods. The argument I hear is that it’s impersonal or it doesn’t work. If it’s impersonal, make it personal. If it’s ineffective, go back to the drawing board. After all, there are a lot of successful businesses that leverage these methods of engaging customers and they see a huge return on investment. Often impersonal and ineffective campaigns stem from lazy approaches or sticking with a poor system. Both are bad practices.

If automation isn’t right for you or your firm, you can still leverage your database to drive more business. Send out emails with tips and advice, or perhaps you can even ask your clients/prospects questions to determine how to better serve them or what voids you can help fill. If you can convert just a handful of prospects, or even customers who have lapsed, to new clients by proving you bring value to the relationship, its worth a great deal to your company and the proverbial bottom line. Many service providers live and die off of the business from as few as 20-30 clients. They may have more, but even if it’s 60 clients, adding 5 new firms or turning lapsed users back into active accounts is a monumental impact. How many of those companies living off a small base of clients have thousands of contacts in their database? How many are not effectively engaging even a small percentage of those companies? Shocking and disappointing, the answer to both question is a lot of them.

So, stop saving those contacts until a rainy day and reach out and get them engaged. Focus on value driven messaging and avoid sales pitches, but start to reach out. Maybe you can share content, white papers, reports or some other item you think they’ll value. Though the Colonel kept his recipe secret, he left no stone unturned when he grew his business. Use your list right and you’ll learn to fry your competition, just like he did. I’d aim for nothing less than extra crispy!