Reverse yogolohcysP

Using psychographics to segment your market

[Editor's Addendum - This is the second of our series covering different ways to segment your target market. See our post on demographics here.]

Have you seen a terrible play / show? I mean like a truly truly terrible one. One where some / most the audience walks out? While there are many causes of a terrible play, one is definitely poor acting. 

You can always tell a poor actor / actress because they fail to convince you of who they are portraying. Likely because they haven't transformed enough. Or simply put, they have yet to enter the mind of their character.

​Know any good psychology jokes?
​I'm A-Freud Not

This is exactly what psychographic targeting is all about - entering the mind of a prospect / customer / consumer. If you are able to get into their life and mind, you can unlock buying motivations that you may not have otherwise realized were there. Below are a couple ways to think (pun intended) about psychographics:​

• Lifestyle – Simply put, how does the customer live their life? This goes much beyond what they do. For example, two college students could have very different lifestyles - do they follow the crowd or are they a trend setter? Another example would be two  people who make only one purchase a year from you; one could be because they like to live a minimalist lifestyle while the other chooses to explore brands and try new things. 
  
  
• Interests & Opinions –What kind of hobbies does your market have? Combining a hobby with a particular demographic allows you to speak on a different level. For example, you could use sports to speak to dads in their mid-40s. Similarly, what opinions does your market have? Have your ads speak directly to those opinions .  . . or if your market is split, put them against each other to build in-group loyalty.
  
  
• Values – Again this will give insight in how to speak to your audience. Does family trump career? Time trump gifts? Adventure trump routine? Binding these values to your brand will give enhance your brand equity and attract a particular audience. 
  
  
• Social Class – Ones social status can greatly affect how marketing speaks to them. (Note: this is more than just occupation; social status can be an active choice). Someone on the higher end of social status is likely to care more about image (and by extension brand image).  And if you’re deciding on which market to target, know that this is often tied to buying power. 
  
  
• Personality – This can be seen as a conglomeration of all the above. Overall how does the person act and want to be portrayed? It can be pretty easy (and very effective) to build a marketing campaign around particular personalities. Think about the personalities of senior citizens, bikers, or even hipsters. They will each react to different stimuli. 

---

Don't think too hard about our next post! ​Just keep checking back.

Related Posts

Let Me Give You A Demo - How to segment your target market by demographics
Wait For It . . . .  . - Why local businesses have to prepare for instant gratification
I Guarantee You're Going to Hear About This Again - Why repetition is key in marketing according to the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon​