If you offer generic products that cross over various industries, looking at SIC codes also can help focus your marketing efforts. For example, b-to-b gift mailers may find their products appeal to a specific type of industry or size of firm.
With additional analysis, you can take these data to a more sophisticated level. Often, specific combinations of SIC code and, say, employee size or company revenue will rise to the top of your analysis. Those targets may be more likely to respond than other combinations. These firmographic data then can be used to target prospects. A benefit of this approach: You can use it for selecting compiled lists that otherwise wouldn’t be usable for your prospect mailings.
- Companies:
- J. Schmid & Assoc.
A columnist for Retail Online Integration, George founded HAGUEdirect, a marketing agency. Previously he was a member of the Shawnee Mission, Kan.-based consulting and creative agency J. Schmid & Assoc. He has more than 10 years of experience in circulation, advertising, consulting and financial strategy in the catalog/retail industry. George's expertise includes circulation strategy, mailing execution, response analysis and financial planning. Before joining J. Schmid, George worked as catalog marketing director at Dynamic Resource Group, where he was responsible for marketing and merchandising for the Annie's Attic Needlecraft catalog, the Clotilde Sewing Notions catalog, the House of White Birches Quilter's catalog and three book clubs. George also worked on corporate acquisitions.