What if you could match the right offer to the right customer or prospect at the exact time that they're ready to purchase your product or service? 

Seems like a pretty tall order, and there's no magic bullet to get it right every time.  But it's infinitely more possible if you've got good data and database managent practices in place. 

Whether you're already using a CRM (customer relationship management) product like Act! or salesforce.com, or simply keeping track of your customers and prospects in an spreadsheet on your desktop, the trick is to use the data you've got to segment your lists and develop specific communication strategies for each stage in your customer's buying process.

The simplest list segmentation strategy could be to identify current, or active customers; past, or inactive customers; and prospective customers.   It makes sense that you would communicate with each segment of this list differently.  But, in order to do so, you must be able to sort your data into these three distinct categories. 

The more information you collect on your customers and prospects, the better your ability to target will become.  So, once you've segmented your list by current, past, and prospective customers, start thinking about other what other characteristics set these groups apart. 

Do you serve several industries?  If so, is there a field in your database that allows you to target these industries independently?  Segmenting your list in this way will allow you to address these distinct audiences and address each separately, addressing the specific ways your product or service serves each industry best.

Do you have several marketing campaigns underway?  If so, are you collecting information on where the leads in your database are coming from?  Segmenting your lists by specific lead sources allows you to communicate to each of these groups in a unique, consistent manner.

The possibilities to tailor your marketing messages are as infinite as the number of ways you can slice up your marketing database.  And the way to do that is to collect as much information as you can and use it to tailor your messages to the group you're communicating with.