Picture the scene: you’re at home in your one-bedroom flat in an area full of young professionals, when a leaflet drops through your door. You pick it up, only to discover that the leaflet is for mobility scooters. Needless to say, it ends up in the bin. So what went wrong? It’s simple, the instigators of the leaflet campaign failed to do proper market research before they started, and as a result, they’re throwing money away hand over fist, printing leaflets which go from the doorstep to the bin without so much as a second glance.
Don’t let that be you.
What is market research?
Put simply, market research is the process by which you discover things about your potential customers – your market. It’s a vital step in the sales process, and failing to truly understand your market will result in a grossly inefficient marketing campaign at best, and a total failure at worst.
How’s it done?
Market research takes many forms – some of the most obvious include methods like handing out questionnaires in the street, or doing data capture with the public via promotional staff. These methods make an impression, but the data they return tends to be patchy at best.
More solid data may already be under your nose – ask your sales or shop floor staff what kind of customers they see on a day to day basis. Are they young or old? Predominantly
male or female? Use your knowledge of your current customers to extrapolate a picture of your potential customers, and market to them accordingly.
What are the benefits?
Market research is a deceptively powerful tool. On the one hand, it prevents situations like the hypothetical one at the top of this post – by knowing who your customers are, you can avoid marketing to people who simply don’t fit into your customer base. This helps to trim the fat off your marketing campaigns, keeping costs down via accurate market targeting.
On the other hand, good market research can actively boost sales by indentifying the key characteristics of your current client base. If your market research team has concluded that your product has appeal with young, well-educated males, you can seek out areas where you might find this sort of person, and
target your leaflet campaign accordingly. This sort of targeted campaign produces better results time and time again.
Here at Direct Letterbox Marketing, we offer our very own service for demographic profiling, which we recommend as part of the market research process. As specialists in leaflet delivery, we have the skills and the expertise to help you with every stage of your leaflet campaign – from design right through to delivery. For more information on our broad range of services, use our contact page, or call us now on 0121 453 9100.
