6-6-13 Getting your customer’s zip code is one of the simplest marketing research tools

Whether you have a storefront business or work from your home, you want to know the geographic locations of your customers.  When choosing sources for your advertising and promotion, one of the first pieces of information you want to have is “Where do your customers live?”

Asking the customer for a zip code at the point of sale is quick and easy.  If you are using a computer for your purchase transaction, you can simply add the zip code information.  If you’re not working directly off of a computer, you can do a simple paper and pencil listing; then transfer this information to a spreadsheet on your computer later.

You can also keep track of this information for people who contact you because they saw or heard something about your business. 

Zip code information is especially important for businesses that serve both local and tourist customers because you want to have a way of determining how much to invest in local advertising sources vs. reaching out to a larger audience.

Keeping track of zip codes can also help you decide if you want to invest in advertising in other locations where you’re not drawing the amount of customers you want.  On Whidbey, it may be advantageous to learn if you are drawing from a very limited geographic area; you may want to experiment with advertising in other places on Whidbey to see if you can enlarge your market.