Almost every database has a value, no matter how old or untargeted. It can often provide a starting point for building a valuable tool for delivering those vital sales leads.

Often the source of a company's data is a list of lapsed customers,
or prospects gathered at an event which has been attended. At some time these contacts have expressed an interest in your products, so do not ditch them because they appear out of date and irrelevant.

Use this data as a springboard for building a new marketing prospect list. Why pay for a whole new database when you can channel precious marketing budget elsewhere simply by enhancing the information you already have. Add contacts where there are none, add useful demographics in order to allow you to segment your audience in a more targeted way, and turn an apparently worthless list into a mechanism for delivery sales leads.

Enhancing your database can be a fast, cost effective process when undertaken correctly. Firstly, be clear about the information you need your database to contain.

These are all questions you should be considering prior to spending precious marketing money on a data enhancement exercise.

Once you have made these decisions ensure that the file you are using to enhance your database is clean, current, compliant and comprehensive. Your new database will only be as good as the information which is fed into it.