Scientists tell us that something called Dark Matter is what connects everything in the Universe and that it exists in-between everything we see. It is invisible but extremely powerful. It is binding and specific in purpose but does not constrain.
That’s the way I think about Demographics, especially when applied to a Direct Mail campaign.
A successful Direct Mail campaign is much more than the physical. It’s more than a postcard with vibrant colors, great verbiage, and a fantastic Call to Action. What sits behind the campaign – what you can’t see – is the combination of an innumerable set of variables, all working together, pulling in the same direction to help get you to your ultimate goal: New Clients!
In a previous post (“Or Current Resident”), I talked about the importance of making sure you are targeting the most accurate and potentially viable prospects, and I pointedly said that demographics matter. As part of that prospect-targeting process, you want to very purposefully understand a particular set of factors and how they’ll impact your campaign – and the first place to start is by understanding the demographics of your target audience.
You’ll find a bunch of definitions and ideologies tied to ‘Demographics’, but I like the way Brandwise lays it out.
“Demographics or demographic data refers to selected population characteristics as used in government, marketing or opinion research… Commonly-used demographics include race, age, income, disabilities, mobility (in terms of travel time to work or number of vehicles available), educational attainment, home ownership, employment status, and even location. Demographics are frequently used in economic and marketing research.”
It is impossible to fully weigh or quantify or measure the part of the cosmic recipe Dark Matter represents. A bunch of really smart people have been working on that for a long time! But it is entirely possible, with today’s advances in statistical reporting and accurate census data to fully understand who your prospects are, where you can best reach them, and how they can factor into your success.
And there can be some great reasons to seriously adopt the practice of utilizing demographics in your marketing efforts.
Namely, you’ll be decreasing the time and effort it takes to reach true new prospects. You’ll know the exact group of people you’re going after. Let’s say your product has been a hit with women between the ages of 35-49, professional, college educated (a Bachelor’s Degree is just fine), who enjoy infrequent travel.
Demographics also mean that by more narrowly focusing your marketing efforts, you’ll save marketing cash! And with that cash, you’ll be able to decrease the time between your first and second campaigns to these prospects. See where I’m going with this?
And once you’ve identified the right audience, you’ve selectively approached them with a first and second campaign, all of a sudden those 500 professional women who travel infrequently are now your clients. Okay, well, not all of them. But, by taking strides in the beginning to utilize the best tool for identifying the right audience, your ROI should be much higher than if you were to blast out postcards to the first 500 names in your local phone book.
You can’t put Dark Matter to work for you just yet. But demographics are ready and waiting!
If you need help figuring out how to use demographics as your secret weapon, contact an Opportunity Knocks Direct Mail Coach at okiam@prospectsplus.com or at 866-319-7109.
We’ll even pull a FREE MAILING LIST for you.