Power Direct Marketing: The Book
Some Questions to Consider
- What is the size of the market for your product line? How can that market be expanded? Exploited?
- Is your product to be marketed to a particular segment of the community? Can you clearly identify those segments?
- Does research define the measurable characteristics of the prospective customer?
- Who are your current customers? What do you know about them? Can you overlay any common characteristics? How many of them are there?
- Does the profile of your current customer meet the profile of your potential customer? If not, what is the profile of your best prospects?
- What does the current customer buy? In product and services? How long do they remain customers? What, additionally, can they be sold?
- What do your customers think your strengths and weaknesses are? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Who are your competitors? What do your customers think about them?
- How long has it been since you’ve talked to your sales staff about your customers?
- How long has it been since you talked face-to-face with several of your customers?
In direct mail and telemarketing, your audience is your list. In direct response space advertising, your audience is your readership. In radio your listeners, in television your viewers.
You may have an unusual situation where your direct mail or telephone list is a captive group, very vertical, maybe your own customers or clients. Even in these instances, many times they don’t know why you’re coming to them at this time.
And they won’t know until you talk to them—and make them an offer. In communication with "your own" audience, it is important to always remember that they are your most important asset. Treat them well.
The audience is equally important if it is a cold list, one which has no prior relationship with you, your company, your product or services.
Whether you are looking for leads from business or consumer prospects, reaching into the market to develop a traffic-building program for a retail outlet, conducting a business or consumer mail-order sales effort, or endeavoring to raise funds for a community, school, or charity project, you must in every instance massage, court, woo, measure, and account for those prospect names, as they are your audience for this particular offer.