Targeting high potential markets with a direct mail marketing campaign can be a very affordable and efficient way to get new customers for most companies and entrepreneurs but how can you find a way to reach those high potential markets? Using demographic data could be your solution.

In the United States, demographic data is easy to get through the US Census Bureau website. Although, understanding how to extract data from a database and segment markets in a way to identify which market would be your best target for a direct mail marketing campaign requires great knowledge of census data and market segmentation techniques. Acquiring this knowledge takes time and hiring a full time employee that is expert in market segmentation can be costly. Since the whole purpose of using demographic data for your direct mail marketing campaign is to save money and increase benefits, buying mailing lists or a market segmentation system might be the smart choice.

When purchasing a mailing list, it is important to learn about its selection process. Do you want a business list or a residential list? Do you want to target markets with a household average of 40 years old or would you rather target markets with a younger population? Demographic data used to build a mailing list can make a huge difference on your return on investment.

Sounds good? As mentioned before, buying mailing lists or a market segmentation system based on demographic data for your direct mail marketing campaign is cheaper than hiring a full time employee specialized in market segmentation or direct mail marketing but it's still an important investment that requires some research. Many companies are offering such mailing lists, market segmentation systems, specific industry solutions and direct mail marketing solutions. It's now up to you to find the right data provider for your business and achieve succesful direct mail marketing campaign using demographic data!

Frank Levert is a graphic/web designer, multimedia artist, copywriter and marketing professional with over 10 years of experience in the industry. He is now the owner of Netmar Solutions, a company offering a whole spectrum of internet and marketing services for small and medium size businesses.