An ice cream shop owner stands at their freezer, facing a crucial decision about which flavors to stock. Chocolate is their best-seller, but would three different chocolate variations really be the smart choice? Or would a mix of chocolate, strawberry, and mint actually delight more customers in total? This is the exact dilemma that businesses face every day—how to reach the widest possible audience while making smart use of limited resources. And this is where TURF analysis comes in.
What is TURF analysis? It stands for Total Unduplicated Reach and Frequency, and it's a method that shows you the best combination of products, features, or messages to connect with as many people in your audience as possible. Instead of just picking the most popular individual options, TURF helps you find the ideal set to reach more people overall.
In this article, we'll discuss how TURF analysis can elevate your business decisions—from product development to marketing campaigns. We'll explore real-world examples of companies using TURF to optimize their offerings, practical tips for implementing the analysis, and common pitfalls to avoid. Whether you're launching new products, designing marketing messages, or planning your feature roadmap, understanding TURF analysis can help you make smarter choices that maximize your market reach.
How businesses use TURF analysis
Marketing teams use TURF analysis to develop messages that connect with different groups of customers. Instead of using one message that speaks to the largest single group, they can find combinations of messages that reach more people overall. For example, some customers prioritize quality, others value convenience, and some seek the best price. TURF analysis helps identify the optimal combination of messages that resonates with all these groups.
Product teams find TURF analysis valuable when deciding what to offer customers. For instance, a streaming service might use it to decide which types of shows to produce. While action series might be the most popular single genre, TURF analysis might show that offering action, documentary, and comedy reaches more total viewers than offering three different action show variations.
How TURF analysis works
Companies can gather data for TURF analysis in several ways, and the scope of analysis depends largely on your data source. When working with transactional data, like grocery store purchase records, there's virtually no limit to the number of items you can analyze. For survey-based research, different methods suit different needs.
The simplest approach? Ask people to check off all the options they like from a list. This works well for testing up to about 20 items, typically split across two columns. Another method, ranking questions, asks people to rank their top choices, which works better with shorter lists of 7-10 items, as longer lists become difficult for respondents to manage.
Companies can also use rating scales, where people score each option on a numeric scale. For more sophisticated needs, MaxDiff studies can handle up to 100 items while maintaining data quality through a sparse design.
The analysis provides two crucial insights: reach and frequency. Reach tells you how many different people you connect with using various combinations of products or messages. Frequency shows you how often those people choose each option. How you define "reach" depends on your data collection method—it might be a top-3 rank, a high rating (4 or 5 out of 5), or any positive purchase intent. To properly measure “frequency”, you’ll need data on a frequency scale such as - How many times would you purchase this flavor in a 30 day period? How often would you watch this genre - daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
Grocery store case study
Consider a major grocery chain seeking to enhance their loyalty program so that shoppers prioritize shopping at their location and not the competition. When shoppers scan their loyalty card at checkout, the store captures detailed data about individual shopping patterns and preferences. Rather than simply tracking which items are most popular overall, a retailer can analyze how different customer segments respond to various promotions. For instance, they might discover that while some customers consistently respond to ice cream promotions, others only engage with household goods deals, and still others primarily watch for fresh produce specials.
By applying TURF analysis to this data, this grocer can build promotional calendars that make sure to engage the widest possible range of loyalty members at least once within the calendar year—ensuring they find value in the loyalty program. Instead of repeatedly discounting the same high-volume items, they carefully sequence their promotions to serve different shoppers throughout the year. This approach not only keeps more customers engaged with the loyalty program but also helps the grocer avoid the common trap of wasting promotion dollars on redundant offers that don't expand their impact.
Key Considerations for effective TURF analysis
When implementing TURF analysis, several key considerations can make or break your success.
Target the Right Audience
Choosing the right audience for your analysis makes a big difference in getting useful results. Think about who uses your products most often and who brings the most value to your business. Some companies give extra weight to frequent customers' preferences—for example, a customer who buys six pints of ice cream per month might be weighted six times more heavily than someone who buys just one pint. Focus on building your strategy around your most valuable customers while remaining aware of occasional buyers.
Consider Brand Alignment
Your brand's identity should guide how you use the results. Take Lexus, for example. Their analysis might show that messages about affordability and value would attract new customers. However, as a premium luxury car brand known for exclusivity, Lexus can't simply chase every potential customer. They need to find messages that reach different customer groups while maintaining their premium brand image. The goal isn't to reach everyone—it's to reach the right people with messages that fit your brand's values and positioning in the market.
Look Beyond Single Benefits
Remember that TURF analysis excels at showing breadth of reach, but your products or services often need depth to succeed. Customers rarely make decisions based on a single feature or benefit—they need multiple compelling reasons to buy. While TURF helps optimize your reach across different customer segments, consider complementing it with other research to ensure your offering has sufficient depth to convert interest into sales.
Account for Variety-Seeking Behavior
Similarly, depending on the vertical you're serving, your customers may actively seek variety. This is particularly relevant for CPG. And most TURF algorithms assume customers are “reached” with just one option. Reality, of course, is more complex. Let's revisit our ice cream example: while chocolate might reach 40% of customers, those same customers won't eat chocolate every time. They might want chocolate one day, chocolate chip another day, and triple chocolate fudge the next. Simply offering only chocolate based on reach numbers could backfire if a chocolate lover shows up and chocolate is out of stock. They certainly wouldn’t dare choose vanilla!
Why Choose Numerious for TURF Analysis
TURF analysis doesn't require expensive software and is probably one of the most accessible advanced quantitative techniques. But while TURF analysis principles are straightforward, many organizations benefit from expert guidance in implementing and interpreting the results. Let's look at how working with an experienced partner can help you maximize the value of your TURF analysis.
Flexible Data Input
We can work with virtually any type of data you already have. Whether you've conducted your own DIY survey or you have a complex MaxDiff study, we can run a TURF analysis on your data. No need for new research designs—if you've asked customers for rankings, ratings, or simple yes/no preferences, we can help you uncover valuable insights.
Cost-Effective Insights
TURF analysis is remarkably cost-effective. While it may not provide the same granular level of insight as a full conjoint study, it delivers clear strategic direction for crucial decisions about product offerings, messaging, and market reach, and can be delivered very quickly.
Strategic Focus
The real value of TURF analysis isn't in complex algorithms—it's in the strategic interpretation of what it means to "reach" your audience. Our team focuses on translating the analysis into actionable insights that help you make better decisions about which messages to prioritize or which product variations to develop next.
Final thoughts on TURF analysis
TURF analysis solves a common business challenge: how to reach the widest audience without wasting resources. Companies often fall into the trap of only offering their most popular products or using their best-performing messages. But this approach misses opportunities to connect with different customer groups.
TURF analysis shows you exactly which combination of offerings will strengthen your brand while keeping operations manageable. Whether you're designing a product line, planning marketing messages, or building new features, it helps you make choices that maximize your market reach. Want to learn how TURF analysis can work for your business?