On the lookout for prospects that resemble your best customers or another coveted segment? Consider the following approaches from Javelin Direct's Eric Tolkin, executive vice president, director of client services and CMO; and Mark Niehaus, director of interactive solutions.
Leverage third-party data. Not only can data enhancement help you build a robust best-customer profile, but it can assist in tracking down more specialized segments. For example, Tolkin and Niehaus point to a cruise line with ocean-view rooms available on 10 different sailings; third-party data can help identify people who fit the profile of prospects most likely to buy ocean-view rooms on a cruise.
Prospect in your best customers' neighborhoods. As Tolkin and Niehaus emphasize, birds of a feather flock together, and so your prospecting efforts could be bolstered by your best customers' word of mouth. Numerous data products with street-level mapping tools rolled out this past year, allowing marketers that sell considered purchases the ability to market into areas with high concentrations of best customers.
