Ever wonder how the people you're marketing to spend their time?  Or even how they differ demographically from others?  We're compiling occupational data from the American Time Use Survey and Current Population Survey in order to provide a view into the lives of B2B buyers. 
 
For example, construction managers spend 44 minutes per day more working than the average worker.  They also spend 28 more minutes watching television.  To offset these differences, they sleep 38 minutes less per day and spend 13 minutes less on grooming, partly because the vast majority are males.  From a marketing perspective, they may be receptive to any labor savings value propositions so they can have more free time.
 
Marketing and sales managers skew towards well-educated, white, married males.  49% have a bachelor's degree, and 15% have earned a masters.  They work for larger organizations, with 46% employed by companies with 1,000 or more employees.  One-third earn over $100,000 per year.  They pay over $14,000 per year in federal and state income taxes, more than twice the average.  A much higher percentage than other full-time workers say their health is "Excellent" (43% vs. 32%).  These variables all have implications about how you market to them.
 
So if you call upon construction buyers, sales and marketing pros, or others, you can learn more about them with our studies.

 

To achieve further penetration, you should adjust your marketing program to local needs.  There are a variety of data sources enabling you to adjust your marketing by local geography, including:

American Community Survey - Expanded in 2008, the Census Bureau now tracks population, social characteristics, economics, and housing features annually for all areas with 65,000 population- Expanded in 2008, the Census Bureau now tracks population, social characteristics, economics, and housing features annually for all areas with 65,000 population or more.  The coverage includes approximately 800 counties and  500 metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, among others.  Data is available for 7,000 geographies in all.  In December, they will release 3-year estimates for 21,000 geographic areas with as little as 20,000 population. 

 

IRS ZIP Code Data - The IRS has published data on individual tax returns filed by ZIP Code for 2004 - 2006.  This data can be used to estimate population by ZIP Code, to target specific income groups, and for making specific financial offers.   

ZIP Code Business Patterns - For 1998 - 2006, you can track how the number of businesses, employment, and payroll has changed by industry for each ZIP Code.  You can then use this data to make forecasts of future opportunities, design sales territories, estimate daytime populations, examine traffic flows, etc.

Metropolitan GDP - Interested in industry sales by metropolitan area?  The BEA now publishes annual data on GDP by 91 industries for 2001 - 2006.  You can track industry trends in real and constant dollars.

A marketing dashboard enables you to monitor your progress and take corrective action where needed.  Dashboard components typically include historical account and revenue tracking, geographical information, and other metrics tailored to your specific needs.  I recently presented a paper on doing this by combining the ubiquity of Excel with the number crunching of SAS software.  For a copy of the presentation, click here.
We have also been selected as a SAS Alliance partner by SAS, the premier business intelligence company.  This alliance enables us to deliver leading data mining, CRM, forecasting, and other applications to our clients.

 InfoTech Marketing has expanded our international capabilities by teaming with the GRS Network.  We've recently completed major primary and secondary research projects for two European companies producing elevators and adhesives, respectively.  bms marketing strategy and research, our European affiliate, has over 17 years experience conducting European market research studies.  The network also has South American and Asian affiliates.  To learn more about the network, follow this link:  www.grs-network.com">