I plan to launch a subscription-based business this summer. In order
to determine the demand curve for the service, I plan to do a simple
marketing study. The study will consist of printing up brochures
explaning the service, and mailing them out to prospective
subscribers. Some brochures will list $10/mo, some $20/mo., $30, $40,
and $50, as the price of the service. Each brochure will explain that
it is a marketing effort, and to secure this price with no commitment,
plus a premium (e.g., three free months of service), to call a number
and leave a confirmation code.

Three-part question:

1. How many brochures do I need to send out for a potential subscriber
pool of 25,000? Some years ago, I researched something similar and
found a nifty web-based calculation tool for opinion surveys, where
the anticipated response rate, confidence level, and total population
were inputs, and the output was the number of survey responses that
would meet the specified confidence level. I can't find that old link,
but I am really after a web tool like that, or the mathematical
formula by which I can calculate it. I don't fear the math.

2. I am not a marketing person, and I really want this to pass muster
in my business plan. Can you find a marketing professor that would be
willing to discuss this plan for about 10 minutes to see if I am
totally off my nut, or whether I'm on the right track? Preferably near
Houston, Texas.

3. Eventually, I need to hire a marketing consultant to bless this
plan, and offer some constructive criticism on the content of the
brochure. Of course, I want to do this on a shoestring (I'm thinking
two 30-minute over-the-phone consultations sandwiching some email
correspondence), preferably someone in either The Woodlands (near
Houston) or Houston. Can you find someone who offers that type of
consultation?

Hi

1. This site offers a formula for working out sample size, and you can
email them to go through your calculations:

http://www.ukmarketingmanagement.com/Testing___Sampling/testing___sampling.html

However, other specialists are wary of using a formula due to the many
different variables involved:

http://publicmind.the-dma.org/enduser/group.jsp?node=22

It depends on the type of service you are offering, the persuasiveness
of the brochure you send out, the price and the demand, among other
things:

http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/businessdev/marketing/directmarketing/faq/

Response rate can be as low as 0.1%, up to 50% (see link above).

2% is often given as a typical response rate, but depending on what
you are offering, this might be way off the mark.

It might be wise to consider targeting your audience more
specifically. If you don't, and you take the much talked of 2% as a
figure, you're looking at 1,250,000 mailings in order for 25,000 to
respond. This could prove too expensive.

To calculate what level of response you would require to break even,
use the formula on this page:

http://www.dbmarketing.com/articles/Art157.htm


2. For contact details of relevant academics at the University of
Houston go to:

http://www.cba.uh.edu/faculty1/marketing.htm

You might be better approaching one of the lesser staff, such as a
teaching assistant. Explain your situation and ask if they can help.
If not, you could ask them to mention you in class, and an able
marketing student might volunteer to help you.


3. To get access to a marketing consultant for a low cost why not try
elance:

http://www.elance.com/c/search/main/advancedSearch.pl?fpCatName=10190&rid=LLB6

Marketing consultants in Houston

 Brian W. Nelson

http://www.thebusinesscritic.com/

Donna Fisher

http://www.donnafisher.com/whois.shtml

I haven't included large companies, as you'd have little chance of
working with them for such a small requirement.

Hopefully, this'll help you get your business up and running.

Good luck with it!

sim-ga

P.S. If you require clarification, don't hesitate


Search Engine: Google

Search Terms:

"direct marketing" formula "response rate"

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"university of houston" "department of marketing"

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22university+of+houston%22+%22department+of+marketing%22

" marketing consultant"  Houston

://www.google.com/search?q=%22+marketing+consultant%22++houston&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=60&sa=N

exactly what I asked for...thanks!

You may be able to get the kind of assitance you're seeking for free
by contacting the Small Business Administration in your area
(www.sba.gov/tx/hous/indexabout.html) and the organization SCORE
(www.scorehouston.org/).
The SCORE Association  is a nonprofit association dedicated to
entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small
business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the Small
Business Administration (SBA).  Working and retired executives and
business owners donate their time and expertise as volunteer business
counselors and provide confidential counseling and mentoring free of
charge.