Many manufacturers and dealers make a careful study of the occasions when buyers are in the market for their goods, and by the use of available records and intelligence, take full advantage of every oppor tunity to reach buyers at these times. Weddings and births are watched, and sales efforts directed toward those who might be in the market on the anniversaries of these occasions. Manufacturers of office equip ment and home furniture keep in touch with those who have suffered loss thru fire. The record of building permits is a valuable index of possible buyers for deal ers in all kinds of material. There are few kinds of' business that cannot push sales by an intelligent use of clipping bureaus and other sources of information regarding possible buyers.
6. How are purchases viade?—How those who compose the market make their purchases is a ques tion of importance chiefly to the manufacturer enter ing an existing competitive field, but certain phases of it are also important to the pioneer. Do buyers of the sort of thing that you are trying to introduce, ordinarily buy by brand or do they care little about the names under which goods are sold? If they usually buy by brand, how strong is their attachment to the goods they are now using, and what can be your expectations of changing the direction of demand? It has been said that if an article con tributes to the personal comfort, health, or appear ance of the person for whom it is bought, or to the appearance of some of his possessions, his attachment for the article he has been using satisfactorily is much stronger than the effect of an appeal to utility, econ omy, or some other impersonal idea. A man who has found just the make and shape of collar that suits him is not easily influenced to buy another brand, while an inducement of price or proof of superior quality will readily induce him to abandon the kind of office ink he has been buying. Considerations such as these aid the manufacturer in estimating the amount of business he can hope to get in a competi tive field and in determining the necessary strength and direction of his selling efforts.
Do the consumers in the desired market ordinarily buy directly from manufacturers or from dealers? Are they accustomed to seek theii own sources of sup ply, or is personal solicitation of their trade the rule? It would be difficult simply thru the force of ad vertising to induce a business man to go to a store to make inquiry regarding an adding machine, be cause ordinarily he does not fully realize his need un til a salesman has showed it to him. The number of people who voluntarily apply at life insurance of fices for policies is so small as to be practically negli gible. In these and other lines, consumers are ac customed to buy only after direct solicitation. On
the other band, a man peddling cigars from office to office might be looked upon with suspicion because smokers usually make their purchases at stores or by mail. Considerations such as these have a decided bearing on the sales methods to be followed by the new manufacturer.
There are other questions connected with the buy ing habits of the desired market to be considered. Do the people in the market expect credit? Will profits be decreased if credit is not granted? Do they buy in large or small amounts? Chewing gum for years has been sold in five-cent packages, one package at a time. One manufacturer has tried to alter this buying habit, and incidentally decrease his sales expense and increase total sales, by using the slogan, "Buy it by the box." In many cases, how ever, it is not wise to attempt to change buying habits, and the manufacturer will find it advisable to har monize his selling efforts with existing custom in the market he is attempting to win.
7. How much can be sold?—No marketing cam paign can be carefully planned that is not based on more or less definite knowledge of the consuming pos sibilities of the market. The manufacturer should try to find out the present total consumption of the kind of goods with which his own is in competition, the total per capita- consumption, the per capita con sumption by states and towns, the increases or de creases in consumption, and all other pertinent facts that will help him in estimating the possibilities of' the business and the amount of sales he can reasonably expect to make both when the campaign is new and during succeeding years.
The size of the market also has much to do with the amount to be spent in the marketing campaign. When a product is new and non-competitive, the size of the possible market is purely a matter of estimate. When the first safety-razor was- offered for sale, the manufacturer had little basis for guessing how many people might be interested in it; the possible mar ket might be said to consist of every male adult in the country. But the manufacturer of a safety-razor today has a basis for more definite figuring. He tries to find out the total sales of safety-razors in the United States, if lie is confining his trade to the do mestic market. It is not always easy to get infor mation of this kind, but there are ways of learning business facts, and the careful manufacturer will find them. Statistics of' production are available; well informed advertising agents and large dealers can often make fair estimates; and several organizations make a business of digging out all kinds of sales facts and figures.