The trick is to determine what uniquely identifies your best customers. Fortunately, deriving this information is not difficult, and in many cases can be obtained from innocuous questions. Consider a manufacturer of baby goods and the fact that families with new babies often purchase multi-passenger vehicles. This manufacturer could build an effective mailing list by surveying recent car purchasers and noting which respondents had traded in sports cars for SUVs. Your information gathering technique of course will vary, but the identifying information always comprises the same three pieces -- demographic information, geographic location, and purchasing history. Demographic Information
Consumer behavior varies with age, sex, education, income, occupation, marital status, and family size. These demographic parameters are typically used to describe consumers, but they're not an exhaustive list. Perhaps the current brand of car or credit limit would more accurately determine your customer base, which reveals the dark side of demographics -- choosing which demographics to discard may be occasionally difficult. You may find yourself fighting the urge to know every minute detail about your customers. Bear in mind that too much information can be just as paralyzing as too little, and remember to choose wisely, because demographic information is the foundation of your customer analysis. Geographic Location
Trends in apartment renting and home ownership have proven the old adage "birds of a feather flock together," amazingly correct. Geographic location analysis paired with demographics reveals clusters of people with similar characteristics living near one another. This type of analysis creates maps where your customers live, which can yield additional clues on where to look for new customers. It's also worth noting that purchasing behavior is remarkably consistent within specific geographic areas, reflecting shared lifestyle traits. Market segmentation studies can build upon geographic analysis to produce studies of various customer types as well. Purchasing History
When did your customers last make a purchase? How often do they buy? How much do they typically spend? You can use these questions to assign a value category to your customers. If you're a consumer goods and services provider, you have all the purchase information you need right in your sales records. If that's not enough, or if you run a different type of business, you can find generalized purchasing history in census data.
Using what you know about current customers to identify likely new customers increases your chances significantly of finding new best customers. That in turn generates sound data to guide your product offerings, promotional programs, and overall marketing strategy.
Catenate, LLC is a web-based provider of detailed easy-to-use targeted geodemographic reports, through the Catosphere (http://www.catosphere.com) and related marketing services.
http://www.catosphere.com
Wendy Cobrda, CEO
Every decade we seem to come up with a buzz-word... Read More
Ask Yourself three simple questions that affect your strategy planning...... Read More
Business rises and falls on leadership. According to business guru,... Read More
Creativity is one of the greatest tools for success in... Read More
Strategic planning is vital while starting a new business or... Read More
Richard L. Daft one of the country's recognized academic leadership... Read More
One of the difficulties we face in our industrialized age... Read More
"Bozo" ? A clown with a forlorn look, always finding... Read More
The time when a website was just a simple set... Read More
Writing a business plan can be tricky when all the... Read More
It doesn't take a Terrorist Act, Tsunami or Earthquake to... Read More
The format of a Business Plan is something that has... Read More
Imagine an office without a desk, or lights, a computer,... Read More
Let us look at a few of the big distribution... Read More
Possibly THE most frequently asked question of me is "What... Read More
Here's a really simple way to make sure your plans... Read More
In 1989, Sony founded its Institute of Wisdom at the... Read More
More than $117 billion passed hands from Internet shoppers to... Read More
If you are looking for a partner, funding, angle investor... Read More
The current state of the available technology at the disposal... Read More
It is always said "If you Fail to Plan, you... Read More
The first task before hiring a contractor for home remodeling... Read More
"Did you hear what your competitor is doing?" This question... Read More
In Ohio: besides the 3-Cs you should look at Akron,... Read More
Many very successful business owners may never have had a... Read More
home cleaning services Mundelein ..Richard L. Daft one of the country's recognized academic leadership... Read More
American Eagle Outfitters and Wet Seal Stores have issued statements... Read More
Growing your own small business can be one of the... Read More
Let us look at a few of the big distribution... Read More
Writing a business plan is an essential part of the... Read More
When you start your program to purchase your "ideal" company,... Read More
Note to Rite Aid and CVS: It's not about the... Read More
Writing a business plan is no easy task, sure you... Read More
I am not a big fisherman, but I do enjoy... Read More
To Grow (Catapult) Your Business That's Why.When it's in your... Read More
A menu is the foundation of any restaurant; Guests will... Read More
Would you like to jumpstart your online or offline business... Read More
A focus group is a group of employees or current... Read More
Mobile auto detailing equipment becomes very inexpensive around March each... Read More
Q: A key investor in my business has suggested that... Read More
Many of Ohio's downtown areas are in need of upgrading... Read More
Most companies that are worthy of raising venture capital have... Read More
Before becoming a netpreneaur, I was an entrepreneur. First, I... Read More
When developing the competition section of your business plan, companies... Read More
When someone mentions business planning we have been conditioned to... Read More
Although North Americans were the dominant population on the Internet,... Read More
Running a business, whether it be an offline multi-billion dollar... Read More
There are no "rules of thumb" in the pursuit of... Read More
In Ohio: besides the 3-Cs you should look at Akron,... Read More
How important is a vision statement to your company or... Read More
Strategic Planning |