All profitable marketing strategies are based off a complete and thorough knowledge of the customer. There's no doubt that I have seen my share of products that sell like crazy from companies that don't know a lick about their customers and have no marketing plan at all. Successful small businesses know their customer extremely well.

Knowing Your Customer

How does knowing your customer help you sell more products and services? Having consumer research information allows you to tailor your marketing tactics to meet the needs and wants of your target customers. For example, suppose I knew that my target market was a 55 year old making over $70k a year and has back problems.

You could create a direct mail campaign to people who live in zip codes with income over $70k, have had back pain medical treatment and that are over 55 years old. Pretty simple, right? Well, it IS that simple and, yes, there are mailings lists that will give me that information. Now, there won't be many people on the mailing list but at least you are zeroing in on your target market and not wasting ad dollars.

This type of information can help you in a myriad of ways when planning your marketing campaigns with radio, website advertising, periodical advertising, postcard direct mail campaigns etc.

Where to Get Consumer Research Statistics For Your Small Business

Your primary resource for acquiring consumer research in your small business industry with your trade association. If they are doing their job right, they should have some type of consumer and business research statistics that they generate on an annual basis on your specific industry.

This research may contain information about consumer preferences, purchasing criteria, level of satisfaction, and other useful data upon which to based your marketing strategies. Contact the association or organization that serves your small business industry and ask them for access to their research statistics.

You may be able to find your association at www.associationcentral.com or www.associationfinder.com. You may also be able to locate valuable research statistics from suppliers that serve your industry. Call a few of your suppliers that provide direct goods and ask them if they have any such research and if you can have access to the findings. It always helps if you're a current customer.

Using Consumer Research to Increase Sales

Consumer research is an often ignored marketing tool that is rarely used by small businesses. The reason its ignored is usually because small businesses don't know how to use it. Many owners will see a statistic and log it into the back of their brains but never use that statistic to their advantage. The pot of gold is not necessarily in having the consumer research, but knowing HOW to use it to sell more products and services.

Let's take a look at some consumer research in the spa and pool industry and try to develop some marketing tactics that would take advantage of our knowledge to sell more units. The following statistics that I will quote is available from the National Spa and Pool Institute by calling (703) 838-0083, ext 153.

I highly recommend that every small business contact their own industry association to get a copy of their own industry's statistics as you will soon see how valuable they can be to you and your business.

Developing Marketing Strategies Based on Consumer Research

Statistic #1:

According to ICI Acrylics, the profile for an average spa consumer is a person who is married with an above average income with most earning between $40k to $75K. Most do not have children under 18 living at home and they have lived in their home an average of seven years. The Male member of the household comes up with the idea to get a spa or pool and initiates the buying process.

Marketing Strategy:

Knowing this information, you might plan a direct mail campaign to zip codes where the average income is around $60k and to married couples with empty nests who have been at the same address for five years or more. You would address the letter to the male member of the home by name if possible. You might perform a test mail campaign in several zip codes and measure response rates before launching a full-scale campaign.

Statistic #2:

Two-thirds of all new spa owners say they have friends who own spas and 90% of current spa owners would recommend one to a friend.

Marketing Strategy:

You might consider launching a strong referral program with my current customers since two-thirds of the people who have purchased a spa know other people who already own one. This statistic tells you that the spa and pool industry has a tight demographic audience that has similar tastes and spending habits.

Additionally, it is uncommon for 90% of a customer group to recommend a product so strongly. This indicates a very high level of customer satisfaction. This makes it ripe for a referral program as compared to an industry that has customers in a very wide range of demographics, which makes for a poor referral program.

Statistic #3:

The top three reasons that non-owners don't plan to purchase a spa were, (1) 27% never gave it much thought, (2) 13% thought is was a poor investment, and (3) 12% preferred a different recreational item over a spa. Consumers would rather do exterior renovation, add a room, buy new appliances, or buy new furniture instead.

Marketing Strategy:

First of all, the fact that 27% of the people never even considered buying a spa means that manufacturers have not been doing their marketing jobs. It is the manufacturers job to provide mass marketing support for their brand. You should ask for coop dollars from your manufacturer using this statistic as a basis for your argument.

Secondly, You might partner with home improvement stores and furniture stores do some joint promotions. Perhaps these may be good places to display some of your spas (if they don't carry a line themselves) or leave some Special Reports and give the stores a commission for generating leads.

Statistic #4:

Consumers get the same warm feelings from activities such as (1) riding in a convertible car with the top down, (2) riding on a Harley Davidson, (3) using a warm electric blanket, (4) dinner by candlelight, (5) fire in hearth, drinking wine and listening to music, and (6) getting a massage.

Marketing Strategy:

Businesses that provide these experiences have customer lists too and would make excellent joint venture partners for doing endorsement offerings. By endorsement offerings I mean that you could talk to the owner of the local Harley Davidson store and ask him if he would be interested in doing a direct mailer to his customers endorsing your spas and store. You could also do a direct mailer to your customers endorsing Harley Davidson's and his store. You could do the same for expensive restaurants and massage clinics in the same zip codes as your customers.

Statistic #5:

65% of all spa owners said that they thought spas were a great way to relax and 23% mentioned that they received medical or therapeutic benefits. 24% of spa owners said that their spas were difficult to clean and maintain and 6% said that they didn't think the chemicals were safe.

Marketing Strategy:

If 65% of spa owners said they like the relaxation they received most from their spa then that needs to be a key marketing message to your customers. As a matter of fact you should contact your customers and get their testimonials testifying to that fact as well as the therapeutic benefits they receive.

In all my marketing messages you should also try to portray a man getting home from work exhausted and jumping into his soothing spa to relax from his high stress job. Remember, the man is who comes up with the idea to get a spa.

You might also craft a message and probably even a script that your sales people would have to memorize to counteract the objections that they may get as a result of spas being hard to maintain.

Statistic #6:

Statistics say that there are more skeptics than believers when it came to spas. Over 51% aren't convinced a spa could benefit their lives. The statistics also revealed that those skeptics tended to be older people.

Marketing Strategy:

The only way to overcome skepticism is to educate your consumer. Conisder developing Special Reports that talk to and prove the fact that spas not only will improve your health but your happiness too. Include lots of testimonials from older people attesting to that fact to provide social proof.

You might also dig up some statistics of older people whose health has improved as a result of spa hydrotherapy. You might be able to find this information with associations for the physical therapist industry and the medical industry in general.

Statistic # 7:

Forty five percent of potential spa buyers used the Internet to gather information about spa products and services before they purchased. This statistic was drawn from a 1998 study so it most assuredly is higher now.

Marketing Strategy:

If you knew that potentially half of your customers went to the Internet to get information before they ever walked into your store you should, first of all, make sure you had a website, and second, make sure you had a lot of consumer information on it that your prospect would find interesting. You might also consider giving away your hottest free reports only after your prospect gave you their email address.

Statistic # 8:

Consumer's top three rational reasons for purchasing a spa were relaxation, therapeutic benefits, and year-round pleasure. The top three emotional reasons were conversations, relationships with loved ones and to unwind and regroup their thoughts.

Marketing Strategy:

Of all the statistics in this study perhaps the most important is to understand why your customer's purchase spas. After all, consumers purchase as a result of their emotional response. They react to primary obvious benefits and they also react to hidden emotional benefits.

With the information from this statistic you should consider writing a press release with the headline, "Rescue Your Marriage Using This Little Known Secret." The article would go on to talk about how marriages are breaking up right and left and the number one reason from a women's point of view is lack of conversation. Then you should talk about how little husband and wives communicate.

Consider finishing the article telling the readers how regular spa users have quintupled the amount of conversation in their marriage and that purchasing a spa has dramatically improved their relationship and literally saved their marriage in some cases.

Lastly, you should consider offering the reader a free Special Report about how spas can save their marriage. The number one selling book of the 1990's was, "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." Do you think there is a lot of interest in this subject? YOU BET!

Consumer Research Really Can Help You Sell More Spas and Pools if You Know What to Do With It!

You just received eight concrete examples how you can use consumer research to develop solid, practical marketing strategies. Some of the strategies may be more practical and successful than others and some strategies may be easier to pull off than others but the fact is that you can gleam some very important information from these statistics and use them to your advantage.

Article by David Frey