Entrepreneur Chris Imrie expects his database management firm to double its turnover to more than £8m in the next 12 months. He talks to Deputy Business Editor Kate Bowman about company expansion, job creation and dealings in the US.

THREE years ago, Chris Imrie set up Imraid Wireless, a marketing company using SMS - or text messaging - as a way of bringing clients and customers together.

He quickly realised that while SMS marketing reached a wide audience, using it in a more targeted way produced better results.

Imraid, which is based in Newcastle, has become one of the region's fastest growing data management companies, managing a range of customer accounts across the UK, with plans to expand in Europe and the US, open a second office in the region and set up a call centre.

Mr Imrie, 26, says: "SMS and e-mail marketing can be a lot more effective and more profitable if clients can target the right customers directly. Companies can waste time and money on advertising or mass mailing to attract new customers, without realising that a more direct, personal approach is the key."

Collecting data that provides more information about a person, to pass on to clients, is the answer to successful marketing, says Mr Imrie. That means developing databases that not only contain people's names and addresses, but also their interests, hobbies, likes, dislikes and personal details.

Mr Imrie says the advantage of knowing customers better is that clients can run targeted marketing campaigns that achieve a better response.

Imraid, which employs seven people in Blackett Street, has access, through partnerships, to databases containing information about more than eight million people in the UK.

It is also developing its own database, which it is hoped will contain more than 600,000 profiles by the end of the year.

Details are sold to companies wishing to text or e-mail new customers with product messages. Clients in the past have included The Sun newspaper, a number of mobile phone companies, such as Vodafone, MonsterMob and O2, catalogue groups and credit card companies.

Clients can pay between £1 and £60 for the details of each person Imraid passes on, with the cost depending on the type of information given.

Mr Imrie plans to set up a call centre in the future to expand the telemarketing operation of the business, while a sister company dealing purely with financial marketing will be set up in the coming months.

"We will be setting up a company that basically puts money lenders or organisations in touch with people needing financial help or advice," says Mr Imrie.

"At the moment, marketing through letters or television advertising is not targeting the right people. I see great growth potential in this area and, with the experience we already have, we can grow a strong database of people for clients to be put in touch with."

Imraid had a turnover of £4m last year, compared with £300,000 in 2004. Mr Imrie expects it to grow to more than £8m this year as the company expands and takes on more staff.

"We are becoming more and more recognised in the industry and we deliver a high quality service within set time frames. We have clients across the UK and we are actively setting up partnerships in the US and developing networks," he says.

"It takes time, but we are keen to expand overseas and move into certain countries in Europe as well. We also want to increase profitability by growing our own database instead of relying so heavily on buying data from other sources. We are continuing to invest in the core of the business."

For more information, visit www.imraid.com or, to register details with the company, visit www.getwhoopa.com