BAKERS Dolphin is to target individual customers as part of a drive to improve its direct marketing.
A database will be developed by Talisman Database enabling the West Country miniple to home in on specific markets.
The database will not only store customer information but also detailed transactional data gathered from the chain’s 50 high-street shops.
Bakers Dolphin marketing manager Tom Sawyer said:”We are planning to implement a co-ordinated direct marketing programme to begin to develop a relationship with our existing customers. It will also provide an invaluable planning tool for all our marketing activity.”
Talisman managing director Iain Bailey said: “As well as the essential data handling, the system is designed to analyse the large market segments right through to individuals in the database.”
Sawyer said Bakers has been working on developing the system for more than six months.
‘We’ve been aware for some time that we needed to build up the database but because of the sheer volume of information, it has proved a tough nut to crack. We have been marketing direct to customers but only through individual shops. This will enable us to hold the information centrally,” he said.
Sawyer added that direct marketing will play a major role in keeping clients loyal to the chain.