Marketplace Due Diligence

[Timothy C.]

I am close to pulling the trigger on my direct mail marketing campaign. However, I have some common, competing memes in mind. First is that to be successful you need to take massive action. On the other hand, those that jump in without doing sufficient due diligence on a plan and marketplace research are jumping the gun.

Depending on the day, I consider myself on either side of this fence. My biggest concern is that I will push out a full blown marketing campaign in a territory that has been picked over by many other investors. What can I do to research the marketplace to have a more sound idea of what the available opportunity is versus the degree that other investors are already dominating this area? I'm willing to change the planned geography, but will I only know to do so after devoting large sums each month, for six to eight months?