When is target marketing a business not classed as business targeting?

The answer, when advertising companies look to a business profile to determine the consumer characteristics that are likely to be interested in their offer. Cross-over marketing isn’t a new idea but if the target audience is carefully considered, it can be very powerful.

Let’s take Mr Giles Smith as an example to demonstrate the potential of cross-over marketing. He’s 35, has no children, works in the City and has a decent amount of cash to splash. He’s travelling to work and checking out other cars on the road. It’s not long before he can opt out of the company car scheme. He can then choose his own car for a change. His mind wanders further. His mortgage is coming out and he should find a new provider and probably improve his disposable income.

He looks down at his outdated watch. The cuff on his shirt is frayed. The traffic lights take a while, so Giles grabs a pen and scribbles on his hand “go shopping.” Giles’ girlfriend is having supper later and he realises there is no food in. It’s their six-month anniversary! Giles had promised her something special to celebrate. A weekend away perhaps?

The lights turn green. He continues pondering the things on his to-do list that are beyond his actual job. He feels morose and stressed.

Once at work, Giles has access to products and services that have short cuts, save time and help do his job well. But today, Giles is thinking about consumer spending whilst in a business environment.

The opportunity is there for consumer goods marketers to get their message to their target audience, discerning consumers with high incomes looking to spend. Marketers who should be targeting these individuals are companies with high-ticket offers, online shopping services including delivery, and last minute purchases such as low cost airlines and travel websites.

Imagine Giles gets to work and orders some new shirts from the catalogue (printed by SM1 Print Studio of course!) he received on his desk that morning. The items are delivered to work. He orders the food shopping online too, with delivery in a one-hour slot. He also books a last minute break away, printing his tickets electronically. Giles’ mind is clear. He can focus on work completely feeling more efficient and on top of things.

Business-to-business data holders need to start differentiating between people at their place of work from those at their home address. They could add those questions to their registration and data collection processes to help distinguish where the people are.

The mix of both consumer-type segmentation (income bands for example) and business demographics provide a targeting profile richness, that is hard to beat for offers that fit the cross-over market profile. As more databases are developed that are ostensibly consumer files with business characteristics, data buyers should be clear about who it is they want to target, in what mode and where.

Campaign objectives and expectations may vary quite considerably as a result. The fundamental question for you is, who do you want to reach and where do you want to reach them? This could be SoHo businesses, business people at home with offers relating to their place of work, or consumer offers based on a professional profile.

Why not help Giles live his life better.

Melinda is married with two children under five and works full time as an advertising director in a small agency. She’s really busy. But that’s another story…