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Firmographics - So, Who Are Your Customers?
So, who are your
customers anyway? Do you know how they differ from your inquiry base, or better
yet, how they differ from non-buying organizations? How do they compare to
national, regional, or industry benchmarks? Do you really know? To be able to
use the right prospect or house segments with the right message, you need to
profile your house file with firmographic information.
The term
firmographics is sometimes used when referring to 'demographics' in
business-to-business markets, and it may also be referred to as firmametrics.
Firmographics divides the market on the basis of company specific variables.
These variables may include industry type (SIC or NAICS), number of employees,
annual sales volume, company size, contact name, years in business, as well as
an analysis of job functions and title levels within the customer base. Using
firmographics is helpful in developing a usable profile of a typical customer or
client. Where there are significant index bumps above national, regional, or
industry benchmark averages, the unique customer base profile begins to take
shape. This identification process can then be refined into segmentation and
messaging strategies that will allow the mailer to reach the best potential
prospects, with the right message, and increase response rates.
Market
segmentation allows for strategic targeting for business. You can identify your
best profile and target those segments. You can identify and choose the
priority leads you want to go after and that are most attracted to your offer.
In order for customer and client segmentation to be helpful, it must be
meaningful, actionable, and measurable. This same segmentation can be used to
perform tactical levels of suppression to allow the mailer to only mail the
"sweet spot" of each prospecting file.
We, at Direct Hit Marketing,
highly recommend that our clients have a firmographic profile of their house
file completed and perhaps have that data appended to the house file records.
There is potentially a tremendous amount of knowledge to gain about a client's
house file that will lead to improved list selection and more refined
suppression techniques. These profiles can be performed along buyer, inquirer,
as well as topic or product lines, to develop comparative profiles of sub-sets
within the client's house file.
This in-depth information may be the
breakthrough that will set your marketing efforts apart from the competition in
2005.
Direct Hit Marketing is prepared to assist you in stepping up to
this new level of understanding and success. Call Scott at
303-666-0798.
"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased
constantly, or it vanishes." Peter F. Drucker
"What is most obvious
may be most worthy of analysis. Fertile vistas may open out when commonplace
facts are examined from a fresh point of view." L.L. Whyte
We at
Direct Hit Marketing recommend Effective Seminar and Conference Marketing:
www.clemson.edu/esm. This is an excellent 2-day seminar which will improve
your direct marketing results and increase seminar/conference registrations.
Ralph Elliot is Clemson University's Vice Provost for Off-Campus, Distance, and
Continuing Education and leads a multi-million-dollar program. His marketing
experience includes conferences, seminars, executive briefings, in-house sales,
cassette tapes, international study tours, video tape marketing,
teleconferencing, and residential executive programs. www.clemson.edu/esm
Steve Juedes, President of Direct Hit Marketing, says, "Ralph Elliot's
seminar is outstanding and covers all aspects of database marketing for the
continuing and professional education marketing professionals. The Key West
seminar I participated in covered the full spectrum of successful marketing
techniques, with practical ideas which can be implemented immediately."
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