Do You Have A Customer Identity Crisis?

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

---

SWOT Analysis Is No Magic 8 Ball

Q: A key investor in my business has suggested that... Read More

Don?t Allow Yourself to Get Burned

I am not a big fisherman, but I do enjoy... Read More

Ten Steps To A Great Strategic Plan

Ask a small business owner about their strategic plan and... Read More

Communication Strategy During A Time Of Strategic Planning

"Rubbish!" shouted the large, aggressive man in the red-striped shirt... Read More

Shortening Product Life Cycle!

The current state of the available technology at the disposal... Read More

Home Improvement Construction Project Planning

The first task before hiring a contractor for home remodeling... Read More

Mining Market Data

With a heightened awareness of opportunity, ideas can often be... Read More

Titanic Precautions

Many movies have been made about the tragic story of... Read More

Changing Strategy Without Losing Your Customers - Three Vital Steps to Refining Your Strategy

American Eagle Outfitters and Wet Seal Stores have issued statements... Read More

Succession Planning: Problems Getting Started

A survey released by the American Institute of Certified Public... Read More

Corporate Venturing For Emerging Growth Companies

The boom of the dot-com era in 1999 brought the... Read More

Business Plans Keep You On The Success Course

Where would your business be without a proper plan? A... Read More

Business Plan 101 How to Write a Table of Contents

No matter what business you plan to start in your... Read More

Completing the Annual Planning Process

Imagine an office without a desk, or lights, a computer,... Read More

Creating a Vision That Achieves Results

How important is a vision statement to your company or... Read More

3 Undercover Ways to Make Big Profits from Your Competition

You have heard that there is extra money on the... Read More

5 Strategies That Will Boost Your Business Productivity Today! - Part 1

Building a dynamic small business is a constantly evolving, increasingly... Read More

Do You Have A Customer Identity Crisis?

The trick is to determine what uniquely identifies your best... Read More

Seasonality: Whats the Big Deal?

Do you work in or own a business that's affected... Read More

Secrets Of Effective Brainstorming

Have you been in a "brainstorming" session where each person... Read More

The Tables Have Turned - Its Officially a Sellers Market

Private equity firms have raised so much capital over the... Read More

How To Prepare A Business Plan That Guarantees Big Profits

It is always said "If you Fail to Plan, you... Read More

Own Your Niche by Building a Niche Community

In 1997, David Steele was making the transition from a... Read More

25 Ways To Find Companies To Buy

When you start your program to purchase your "ideal" company,... Read More

Abstract Thought; Business Strategies and Biological Systems

To stop a computer virus you must understand how it... Read More

Are You Ready To Go International?

Although North Americans were the dominant population on the Internet,... Read More

If You Dont Focus, Innovate and Evolve, You Die

After 128 years of business, a household word, Montgomery Wards,... Read More

Clearing the Path: 4 Ways Fear Wreaks Havoc on Your Dream and What to Do About It

Please take a moment before you read any further and... Read More

Akron OH; A great place to do business

When looking at Akron carefully one cannot help but notice... Read More

Abstract thought on Business Strategy and Nature

Here is an abstract thought on studying nature and the... Read More

Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map

With the help of balanced scorecard strategy map, it is... Read More

Building a Better Brick-and-Mortar with the Billion-Dollar Web

More than $117 billion passed hands from Internet shoppers to... Read More

6 Steps To Laying Out Your Competitive Strategy

Why do so many companies languish and watch as their... Read More