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With the window market showing its first growth for several years, it’s important to make sure you’re growing too – and faster than the competition. But when time is money, where do you start first? Direct marketing – by mail, email or telephone – is one of the most effective ways of winning new customers: it’s quick, low-cost and can offer immediate results. However, all too often the most elaborate campaigns are let down by the prospect data. Targeting prospective trade customers using an old contact list, general directory or a web search wastes a considerable amount of time and money, thanks to ‘gone aways’, dud addresses and the companies gone bust, moved or start-ups that aren’t included.

A good prospect database is arguably a company’s most valuable asset. It’s where new customers come from. And when the market is changing fast, you need a well-maintained, up-to-date database you can rely on. Having access to good data and good software is vital, because together they enable you to focus your time on marketing and selling to trade customers, rather than looking for them. It’s also important that any system for storing and accessing prospect data is easy to use otherwise the information remains hostage within it.

Windowbase is the longest established supplier of glazing industry prospect data in the UK, targeting fabricators and installers involved in windows, doors, conservatories and curtain walling. Continuous research for almost 25 years means Windowbase has the UK’s most comprehensive and reliable database of companies. We closely monitor the market, with a team of in-house interviewers making thousands of calls a year to validate its contacts, and provides companies of all shapes and sizes with the means to create their own cost-effective sales leads to help them find new customers and grow sales.

Are your Prospects looking good?

Whether it’s sending direct mail or email, doing telemarketing or market research, Prospect Manager from Windowbase provides a hassle-free way to manage your data and prospects.

Prospect Manager is an easy-to-use, secure system which allows Windowbase customers to access accurate data online, instantly. There’s no need to install any software or upload data from a CD or memory stick. With a few clicks you can access your prospect data whenever you need it, and wherever you have internet access.

Customers can sort or select records by any combination of over 100 fields, including region, size of company and products fabricated or installed.

A personal approach

Every customer has a confidential log-in and password to Prospect Manager. You can personalise your contacts, noting when you last called a key company, for example, or using it as a customer relationship management (CRM) system to manage and measure your leads. Any updates made to the CRM fields are entered immediately to your own data. The system can also be used by other users within the company including the sales-team. It allows sales managers to select groups of prospects for canvassing, which those in the field can access remotely. The results of their calls can be monitored by the sales manager in real time – so they know exactly what new business is in the pipeline, and how effectively a sales team is performing.

Before launching Prospect Manager we looked at other data systems and found them too complex to use. Systems that are hard to use don’t get used, so we designed our own. We wanted it to be quick and easy for sales people to access, yet have powerful filtering and tracking options for marketing and sales managers. Feedback from our customers suggests we got it spot on.

Whether you’re using a simple email-merge in Word or more sophisticated eshot software, Windowbase can help you make the most of your marketing, running your entire email campaign or offering simple tips for better success, with data that targets the right people.

For more information on Windowbase’s window industry data or Prospect Manager contact Neil Parsonson on 01453 845717 or info@windowbase.info.