Consumer mailing list experts all agree: lifestyle targeting is a vital tool in any direct marketer’s toolbox. This week, our BB Direct blog series, “Mail Smarter,” takes an in-depth look at lifestyle segmentation and how businesses can use this consumer mailing list selection for their next direct mail marketing campaign.
The Importance of Lifestyle Data
Adding consumer lifestyle data takes your consumer mailing list a step further. This data recognizes that the way people live (lifestyle) influences what they purchase as much as where they live (geography) or their age, income, or occupation (demography). Lifestyle data enables you to include people’s interests, opinions, and activities and understand how these factors affect buying behavior.
Clustering Lifestyle Segments
Concentrations of lifestyle segments create demand for specific products or services. This tendency to cluster is based on the premise that “birds of a feather flock together.” Have you ever noticed that the homes and cars in a particular neighborhood are usually similar in size and value? If you could look inside the homes, you’d find many of the same products. Neighbors also tend to participate in similar leisure, social, and cultural activities.
The Quality of Segmentation Systems
The quality of a segmentation system is directly related to the data that goes into it. High-quality and useful systems allow you to predict consumer behavior. For instance, a retail business targeting tourists can identify products and services that appeal to this market segment. The usefulness of a segmentation system depends on how well the data incorporates lifestyle choices, media use, and purchase behavior into the basic demographic mix. This supplemental consumer mailing list data comes from various sources, such as automobile registrations, magazine subscription lists, and consumer product-usage surveys.
Private Data Firms and Cluster Systems
Several private data firms offer lifestyle cluster systems. These firms use data from the U.S. Census and other sources to separate neighborhoods throughout the United States into distinct clusters. They utilize sophisticated statistical models to combine several primary and secondary data sources to create their own unique cluster profiles. Most models start with data from U.S. Census block groups that contain 300-600 households. In rural areas, the data is more typically clustered by zip code.
Benefits and Limitations of Lifestyle Segmentation
Lifestyle segmentation generalizes the types of customers in your trade area, which is helpful in making sense of a complex market. This simplification, however, may not fully capture the particular traits of your customer base or may overlook the richness of groups in your area. Furthermore, since data are not continually updated, lifestyle segments are based on a snapshot in time. This works well if social and economic conditions remain constant; however, significant changes may make the segment less representative of reality. Therefore, although lifestyle segments can greatly help you understand customers in your trade area, you should take care not to place too much weight on segmentation systems. Instead, regard the information as part of the mix of demographic data.
Make Lifestyle Targeting Work for You
Not currently using lifestyle data for your consumer mailing list selection process? You could be missing out on a valuable target audience! For instance, targeting an apartment complex renters mailing list with lifestyle data can help you identify renters who are more likely to respond to specific offers, such as home decor or local services.
Contact a member of the BB Direct Data Team at (866) 501-6273 to make lifestyle targeting data work for your next direct mail campaign. By incorporating lifestyle segmentation into your direct mail strategy, you can enhance your targeting precision and improve your campaign’s effectiveness, ensuring your message resonates with the right audience.