DETERMINING THE APPROPRIATE LIST
MARKET EVALUATION
Identifying your market, which includes your current customers and
prospects, provides you with an estimated universe for list availability.
CURRENT CUSTOMERS
Current customers are a rich vein of information. By profiling your customer
base you can identify demographic and psychographic data.
THE COMMON DENOMINATORS
After profiling your customer base you will have identified the demographic
and psychographic characteristics. In the business-to-business marketplace you
will find that there are particular publications that your customers and prospects
read and organizations that they belong to.
For example, MIS Directors at large computer facilities interested in local
area networking may read computer magazines that deal with the LAN market like
Network World or Communicationsweek.
In the consumer marketplace you may develop more than one prospect profile.
After looking at your current customer base you may find several market
segments represented.
For example, Theatre audiences may be splintered in several segments. One
segment may be wealthy established suburbanites driving Mercedes Benz and
reading Barrons. Another segment may be young, city dwellers who utilize public
transportation and read Details Magazine.
MARKET PENETRATION
The desired penetration into a geographic area will determine the type of list.
Supermarkets mail to resident lists because everyone has to buy groceries. A
health club mails to compiled consumer list selected by income to reach
individuals who can afford their service.
TRADING AREA VS. UNIVERSE
It is imperative that when analyzing possible list sources that the parameters
of the mailers trading area be defined. Marketing geography and selection
target segmentation can be two forces that work against each other to eliminate
list options. Limited marketing geographic area dictates the depth of
targeting.
