A niche isn’t supposed to be a hiding place. But getting consumers to come out from wherever they are these days takes a lot more than “Ready or not, here I come.” It takes multistreamed information and some oh-so-smart technology to deliver it.

It also takes a special tool to hone prospects because, in the end, you’re only as good as what you know. ESRI, a Redlands, Calif.-based leader in GIS (Geographic Information Systems), employed this philosophy.

For ESRI’s customers, effective targeting comes down to having the most accurate and precise business intelligence available.

Databases at many companies store an enormous amount of unutilized geographic information which, if pulled together and analyzed, represents a powerful targeting tool. ESRI’s GIS software combines and analyzes diverse sets of spatial data on customer street addresses, ZIP Codes™, store locations, customer product registration information – even delivery routes – and draws them together with demographics, sales information, customer and competitor profiles, psychographics, and economic and spending patterns to help corporate clients identify and target their best prospects.

Companies are using these technologically driven targeting tools to create mail insert lists and ZIP Code sorting – right down to carrier routes. Blanketing an entire geographic area in this way can result in better response rates and, ultimately, sales.

“It’s surprising what some companies don’t know about their consumers or their market,” says David Huffman, ESRI director of commercial sales. “You’ve got to know your business environment. Our solutions not only tell people about their customers, their markets and consumer behaviors such as buying patterns, but they’re also used for risk analysis, emergency planning and supply chain management. Reliable data is critical for every aspect of business.”

With a client list that includes Fortune 500 companies, ESRI integrates a high level of business intelligence for a competitive edge.

The Arizona Republic, for example, wanted to grow its insert business by segmenting and customizing distribution based on an advertiser’s best prospects. The newspaper, which began using ESRI’s software in 2002, combined information in their subscriber database with latitudinal and longitudinal information that identifies best prospects for potential advertisers within a certain radius. Those prospects are targeted to receive the advertiser’s message via inserts in their edition of the Republic.

This information has helped the newspaper’s larger advertisers target inserts more effectively around their stores, which helps them market grand openings, market against competitors in their trade areas and boost sales around underperforming stores. “We can target inserts effectively, and our advertisers are making more efficient buys with us,” explains Duff Heyl, Preprint/TMC operations manager.

The paper can use the information to tell perspective advertisers about their market. “If we’re talking to a company that sells pool supplies, we can target only pool owners within a certain radius of the store right down to carrier routes,” says Jay Visnansky, team leader, targeted products at Arizona Republic. “We can deliver the whole market by adding inserts.”

Mail has proven to be an effective part of the paper’s insert business, which has grown during the past three years.

“If the advertiser wants to reach people who aren’t subscribers, we mail inserts directly to households,” Visnansky says.

The entire strategy is clearly paying off with new insert opportunities targeted specifically for the newspaper’s customers.

“When we first launched the sub-zip targeting in 2002, we had maybe one to two advertisers buying inserts a week,” says Heyl. “Currently it’s not uncommon for us to have 20 plus sub-zip orders from advertisers in a given week.”