What Are Psychographics in Marketing?

Psychographics in marketing is a way to understand who your audience really is and what would make them buy your product.?

This market segmentation data is readily available and can be used to supercharge your marketing campaigns, by getting your outreach under the nose of the right people.

Capitalizing on this resource requires that you understand what it is, how you can accurately collect this data, and how to put the rich insights it provides to good use.?

This article is here to help, by answering the most common questions people have about psychographics in marketing. Feel free to scroll through the article at your leisure or alternatively click on the question below to jump to the answer you’re looking for.

Psychographics in marketing is the study of us humans based on our emotional needs and values.

This focuses on our activities, interests, and opinions (you may see this written as AIOs), and enables companies to tailor their marketing to specific consumer requirements.?

This is often used as part of a more extensive marketing data collection process across four different segments - more on that further below.

How Are Psychographics Different from Demographics?

Demographics and Psychographics are two of the four main market segments; they are quite similar and you can use them alongside each other to target the audience most likely to buy from you in the future.?

But, while demographics show you who bought your product, psychographics in marketing provide potential explanations as to why they did so.

More specifically, demographic data is used to organize a target audience into groups by age, ethnicity, income, gender, occupation, and geographic location among others.?

Psychographics data, on the other hand, looks at their cognitive and emotional characteristics - such as personality, lifestyle, attitudes, values, beliefs, desires, hobbies, and interests.

Why are Psychographics Important in Marketing?

Demographic targeting has long been essential to modern outreach, but psychographics in marketing take this process further by enabling you to tap into your customers’ needs and desires. This information is pure marketing gold since it can be used to laser-target your marketing outreach and stay competitive.

Is Psychographic Targeting in Marketing Unethical

Ultimately, marketing exists to drive sales; it’s a large part of what keeps companies afloat, and ensures that your colleagues can pay their bills on time. And, given just how competitive industries are today, marketing requires a rich understanding of consumer behavior so as to optimize outreach and resource allocation.

The segmentation of psychographics in marketing is a central component of this process because it’s a highly effective way to learn about your audience, and it is ethical as long as you collect and use this information in the right way - this means getting permission from the people you’re pulling information from, and keeping it safe.

What are the Three Types of Psychographics?

The three main types of psychographics in marketing are activities, interests, and opinions (or AIOs). Let’s break this down a little and see what value you can get from them:

1.?Activities

Activities relate to what a person does day-to-day and what their routine may include.

For instance, a person who jogs, takes a bus to work, and plays a lot of sports in their free time is very likely to have different purchasing criteria than a person who drives to work, collects coins, and runs a wine-tasting club.?

Memberships, choice of getaway, and subscriptions may give marketers an indication as to a person’s activities.

2. Interests

This rather fun area of psychographics includes media and social habits, hobbies, pastimes, and indeed anything else which occupies an individual’s time.?

This area is rich with information, as a person may have many interests.?

For example, a single, professional woman with a dog may list walking groups, cooking, dog toys, and language learning as interests.?

If companies are able to identify the interests of potential customers, they will be better able to tailor campaigns to appeal to them.

3. Opinions

We all have opinions of course, but have you considered how useful this information would be from a marketing perspective??

Our opinions are one of the major factors in our purchasing decisions.?

It could be something as simple as what you think of certain public or celebrity figures to the more knotty issues of politics and the environment.?

Marketing companies also seek to understand consumers’ opinions on stores, locations, products, and branding, in order to drive successful campaigns.

What is a Psychographics Segmentation?

Psychographic segmentation is the categorizing of people according to things like their psychology, lifestyle, personality, social status, and so forth.

This information enables marketers to position their products in a way that makes them discoverable by the people most likely to buy from them.

What Are the Four Types of Market Segmentations?

The four types of market segmentations are - demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral - and you can find more details about each in the image below:

As you can see from the above image, there is a wealth of information out there on consumers that marketers can use - not only to identify our target audience but to fine-tune it pretty thoroughly!

Let’s have a look at the four different market segments in more detail:

1. Psychographic Segmentation

Back now to our friend - psychographic segmentation.?

As you hopefully now know, psychographics in marketing takes into account the psychological aspects of consumer behavior.?

This is achieved by dividing markets according to lifestyle, interests, opinions, values, personality traits, and the like.?

2. Demographic Segmentation

As previously mentioned, demographics organize a market by factors such as age, gender, education, income, ethnicity, occupation, family size, and nationality.?

Demographics is one of the most commonly used forms of segmentation.?

This is because what we buy, how we use our purchases, how much we will spend on them, and where we purchase them from are often based on demographic factors.

3. Geographic Segmentation

Although you will see geographic location within demographic segmentation, Geographic is also a standalone class of segmentation.?

Potential consumers will have interests and needs which differ according to where they live, so understanding the geographic regions, and perhaps even climates, of customer groups can help companies to pinpoint where to market and sell their products.

4. Behavioral segmentation

Behavioral segmentation divides markets by decision-making patterns and behaviors, such as consumption, purchase, usage, and again, lifestyle.?

For example, younger buyers may tend to purchase a funky-looking, colorful milkshake concoction at a coffee shop, whilst older customer groups may be more inclined to relax over something classic.?

Segmenting markets based on purchasing behaviors can enable marketers to develop a more targeted approach. With this information, they can focus on what their consumers like most (and, of course, what they are more likely to spend their money on).?

________________________

?? You can read the rest of this article on:?https://www.visitor-analytics.io/en/blog/psychographics-in-marketing/?? Visitor Analytics