Sales & Marketing Management - July/August 2008 - (Page 20)

cover story ith annual U.S. household population growing at less than 1%, marketers need to look for those markets and/or population targets that provide faster growth opportunities. Three such population segments are aging, ethnic and affluent consumers. Within ethnic populations, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanic populations are the growth drivers. However, differences in buying and shopping patterns (based on country of origin) requires concentration of selling efforts within specific U.S. cities. The Survey of Buying Power is a terrific source W document to identify the best U.S. cities to reach aging, ethnic and affluent populations. In addition to providing rankings of household spending power as measured by their Effective Buying Income (EBI) statistic, the report provides insights into those locations with high spending across key retail segments. Linking these insights with more granular consumer and shopper insights available from The Nielsen Company enables marketers to assemble business plans that can be made actionable across markets and retail stores. — Todd Hale Senior vice president, Consumer & Shopper Insights, Nielsen Consumer Panel Services E veryone’s market is more dynamic than it was even just a few years ago. The rate of change is increasing, and whether you’re B2B or B2C, you need to understand the shifts in your value chain. Having deep demographic data allows you to do a value chain analysis, all the way down to the end user. What makes this survey different, however—and this is the reason that it belongs on everyone’s reference shelf—is that it is both detailed and comprehensive. It provides a deep dive on the exact information you are looking for, but it also shows you a whole world of potential markets you might not have even thought of. For example, let’s say you’re trying to reach young parents. There are places you can go to get detailed data on that specific group; the problem is that it won’t show you where your untapped markets are. Are young parents your only market? What about young grandparents? The key to creating organic growth is asking yourself, “I know who my target group is, but what about the adjacent markets? Is there a great opportunity out there that I simply haven’t tapped yet?” If you’re looking for new hunting grounds, this is an incredible tool. For marketers looking to drive growth, just having all of these facts in one place, logically catalogued and arrayed in thoughtful perspective, will trigger ideas … ways to segment you might not have thought about, new fields to play in and hunting grounds to explore, new pockets of customers who might be your next big opportunity. This resource is a key addition to your “Where do I get new ideas?” toolbox. — Ralph Oliva Executive director, Institute for the Study of Business Markets por trait by Fonda Photographic 20 SALES &MARKETING MANAGEMENT JULY/AUGUST 2008 www.salesandmarketing.com www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com http://www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sales & Marketing Management - July/August 2008

Sales & Marketing Management - July/August 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Brian Tracy University Smart Sales Sales Strategy Smart Marketing Marketing Strategy Smart Management Management Strategy The Mother Lode of All Market Data Returns Embracing the Future Training Technology Incentives/Motivation Don't Become a Target Abroad Book Excerpt On the Road The Way I See It

Sales & Marketing Management - July/August 2008

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