One term that is mentioned quite often in marketing is demographics. These are the metrics that help marketing agencies like brandRUSSO identify appropriate audiences and place them into various categories. While non-marketers are familiar with demographics, there is another set of metrics that is lesser known than that term – but is equally as important when it comes to identifying and categorizing audiences: psychographics.
As we explained in our previous article, demographics and psychographics are often mistaken to be one and the same. While they share similar aspects, these metrics have different purposes. While demographics supply the information that helps discover who the target audience is, psychographics help marketers understand why the target audience behaves in distinct ways. These metrics give marketers insight into the audience’s interests, beliefs, attitudes and activity.
In the following sections, we’ll explain the reasons why psychographics are beneficial to marketing and demonstrate some of the ways these metrics are used in marketing processes.
Benefits of Psychographics in Marketing
Knowing who your audience is, is the first critical component of a good marketing strategy. And demographics are the best metrics for discovering such valuable information as age, gender, location, marital status, income, etc. However, it’s just as important to know how a target audience thinks, feels and believes, too.
Psychographics supply this information. And when combined with the demographic information, marketers can get a clear picture of their target audience. And with this comprehensive information, marketing campaigns can be better positioned, personalized and more effective.
Below are some of the benefits of employing psychographics in marketing strategies.
Create an Audience Profile
The first step in collecting psychographic data is to create an audience or customer profile. This can be done in multiple ways:
- Focus Groups – A small number of demographically similar people are gathered in an informal group setting and asked specific questions about a topic, product or service. Their answers give marketers deeper insight into the audience’s thoughts and behaviors.
- 1:1 Interviews – While similar in nature to focus groups, 1:1 interviews focus on the thoughts, behaviors and beliefs of individual audience members. Marketers can ask more in-depth questions to produce more detailed data.
- Surveys – Unlike focus groups and 1:1 interviews, surveys allow marketers to cast a wider net to reach a greater number of audience members. And sometimes the data collected from surveys can be even more rewarding. Asking questions in this format gives audience members more time to think about their answers. Plus, audiences have a tendency to be more honest and candid in their responses since the format is anonymous.
- Analytics – Digital marketing channels offer a variety of customer analytics tools and information that help inform audience profiles. Google Analytics demonstrates audience behavior on websites. Facebook Insights help identify which posts and messages are generating the most engagement. And bounce, clickthrough and open rates demonstrate which marketing campaigns are most effective in reaching its intended audience.
Understand and Target Audiences
Once an audience/customer profile is developed, the marketing team has a better understanding about the brand’s audience. Using the psychographic data that they’ve collected, marketers now understand the audience’s needs, pain points and aspirations. They’ve identified the audience’s preferred social media platforms, know which types of social media posts, emails and websites they find most engaging, and recognize the types of print ads and commercials that generate better emotional responses.
With this information in hand, marketers can craft their various marketing strategies to target the most relevant audiences. Plus, they can reach these audiences by communicating with them on the right channels, crafting the right message, and making a real connection that encourages them to take appropriate action.
Analyze Results to Improve Strategies
Once the various campaigns have been launched, marketers can analyze the results for further psychographic data. They can identify which campaigns have been most successful in reaching their target audiences – and which ones have underperformed. This information can help marketers refine existing strategies, develop new strategies, craft more emotional messages, identify new topics and trends that are relevant to their audience, and improve their overall marketing effectiveness.
These are just a few of the many benefits of using psychographic data in marketing strategies and campaigns. If you’re interested in learning more about psychographics and how brandRUSSO applies them to our Razor Branding™ strategic process, please contact us today. Our brand strategists would be happy to discuss this exciting marketing tool with you and demonstrate how it can help your organization connect with the right audience.
Jaci Russo, P.C.M., is the CEO and co-founder of brandRUSSO, a published author, entrepreneur, and sought-after speaker. She is the architect behind Brand State U, TrainYard Advisors, and co-host of the He Said, She Said, Razor Branding Podcast. Jaci is a civic leader, mentor, and mother of 4 and is part of the less than 1% of women-founded and led agencies in the U.S.
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brandRUSSO was established in 2001 by Jaci and Michael Russo, representing a global portfolio of B2B clients in the professional services and manufacturing industries. As a strategic branding agency, we believe in the promise behind the brand, and that by changing the conversation we can inspire and motivate consumer behavior.
