Invest Time in Your Customer List and You'll Find Yourself a Goldmine

By Jennifer Spitzer

Regardless of the size of your business, you probably have a customer database. I use the term ‘database’ loosely though, because some of my clients have a professionally managed, relational database and others still use paper files and post-it notes to track their customers. If you fall in the category of “scrap paper customer management”, get it together and put that information in electronic format because this precious data will be a goldmine once you have it organized.

Here are ten triggers that make consumer spending more predictable, and each of these can be tracked, even in something as simple as an Excel spreadsheet.

1. A birthday. Offer your customer a special discount on her birthday. I love receiving my Victoria’s Secret gift card in the mail just before my birthday. They send it every year and I use it every time.

2. A moving household. Even a small business can afford to regularly run National Change of Address (NCOA) on their customer file. A move event triggers spending on furniture, home improvement, households accessories… the list goes on and on.

3. “Birds of a feather flock together." Neighborhoods generally share similar lifestyles and demographics. If you want new customers, take a look at where your existing customers are and go after neighboring households.

4. A specific product purchase. If someone buys a new bed, send an offer for the matching dresser.

5. Anniversary of the purchase. I have a beautiful outdoor lighting system installed in my front yard. It’s been over a year since the installation and the system needs some service. When you contact your customer to service a product, sell something new while you’re at it.

6. Arrival of a new baby. The expenditures and changes that occur in a household with a new baby are too long to list here. This is a great consumer group to target because spending occurs from both emotional (perceived) needs as well as actual necessity.

7. The start of a project. If your customer is building a new deck, she’s probably already looking for the items she’s going to put on that deck, like new furniture, a grill or other accessories.

8. An accomplishment. We all have customers who share personal information. Your customer’s accomplishment may not be an opportunity for you to sell something, but it’s certainly an appropriate time for you to stay top of mind with something as simple as a note of congratulations.

9. Age of your customer. Needs change as a person ages. As an example, now that my parents are retired, they’re travelling more.

10. The Wish List Trigger. The next time you talk to a customer, focus on listening to what she’s going to need from you down the road. Then, capture the information so that you can followup at the appropriate time. As an example, over the winter I had some curtains made for a bedroom window and I mentioned how nice it would be to have new covers for my deck furniture this summer. Fast forward six months… she just called to help me place the order so that my deck will be ready in time for the season.

Effective marketing, whether it be through direct mail, email, social networks or even a phone call, is all about timing. Robust customer data will help you identify ‘triggers’ that enable you to put the right offer in front of your customer at the exact time they’re ready to buy.

I would love to hear your success stories. Post a comment here or send me a note at: jennifer@targetmailmarketing.com.

New Homeowners Buy Furniture

By Jennifer Spitzer

Earlier this week I found an online thread between several business owners who were discussing marketing strategy. I had to jump in because the topic was new homeowner marketing and its relevance to the furniture industry. The conversation was initiated by Randy*, who has been thinking about developing a campaign to target the audience but wanted to know how often the move event triggers spending in the furniture category.

David* jumped in to say “There is probably some connection between the move event and the decision to buy furniture”.

Probably? I’ll get to that in a moment.

Clint* joined in to say people may want furniture when they move into a new home but their budget has been blown on the house, so you may be better off targeting homeowners who have lived in their primary residence longer.

Joe’s* opinion is that new homeowners are broke and you would be better off targeting college students immediately upon graduation because they have more disposable income. (I'm going to save that one for another day).

I get excited when I read these types of comments because I know these are business people who need help. The fact of the matter is, if you are in the furniture business and you’re not targeting new movers – you are missing out on an incredible opportunity. New homeowners are THE single most predictable audience for purchasing furniture. Over the last ten years, research has proven time and time again that over 75% of new homeowners will make a furniture purchase as a result of the move event. Many of those consumers will make their purchase within the first three months. We also know for a fact that this audience will spend more than a non-moving consumer and they’re likely to make multiple purchases for the next 12-18 months. All of this is backed up by a combination of survey data, industry research and analysis of long-term direct mail marketing campaigns.

If you operate a furniture business, no matter how big or small, talk to someone who knows how to put you in front of this audience at the right time with the right message and offer. Even if you find that there isn’t a significant amount of new mover activity in your trade area, it’s better to reach 1,000 highly targeted consumers who you KNOW are in the market for your product, than to reach 100,000 people who aren’t ready to buy.


*Names have been changed to protect those who may have given marketing advice to others without having quantifiable results of said marketing strategy.

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