Rusty’s Pizza
Pizza Lover’s Club

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Hey Scott,

Your offers are, as always, to the right of this message. Just click the button labeled “CLICK HERE for your COUPONS”, and you can print them out and enjoy!

Now at Rusty’s, when you buy a small, medium or large pizza at regular price, the second pizza is half price! No coupons are required, and you don’t even need to ask, it is now part of our regular pricing! We hope your year is off to a great start, and only gets better!

See you soon,
Your Friends at Rusty’s Pizza

Demographics, in a simplified sense, can be described as a profile of your potential customer. Knowing your customer demographics is key — that information tells you who to target with your marketing. Think of demographic data as a virtual image of your customer.

The beauty of this is that numbers don’t lie. If your customers are primarily older, there is no sense in designing an edgy campaign geared toward teens. You want your advertising to pull customers from within your neighborhood or town. But to do that, you have to understand the demographics of the area so that you know what types of marketing will be most effective.

So, how do you do a demographic study? First, you need to decide what information is important to you. Then you need to figure out how to get it. This can be as sophisticated as a software application connected to your Web site that collects data or as simple as a suggestion box on your counter. Many Web sites offer free demographic information, and there are many companies who will conduct market research for you. Adapt to what works for you, make sure it is user-friendly, and possibly even consider adding an incentive in exchange for customer information.

Dan Collier of Rusty’s Pizza Parlors instituted an e-club that catered to the needs of the demographic profile of Ventura County, California. When joining the e-club you are asked if you are a vegetarian – something popular in the area. If you say yes, then when you receive an e-mail offer it is focused on vegetarian choices. Collier then went a step further. Realizing that sporting events often create pizza sales, Rusty’s e-club gathers information about subscribers’ favorite teams. This allows e-mails to be customized with links to team information. This helps reinforce that sports and pizza — in this case, Rusty’s Pizza — go hand in hand. Again, this is effective because Collier’s own demographic work suggested to him that sports play an important role in the lives of his customers.

Specialized marketing campaigns like this are highly effective, but you can’t put them together without first knowing your customer base. So get started examining your demographics today. You’ll see results sooner than you think once you know how to tailor your marketing.

Scott Anthony is a Fox’s Pizza Den franchisee in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He is a monthly contributor to Pizza Today and a frequent guest speaker at the Pizza Expo family of tradeshows.