Have you ever thought about what brings a product or service to its potential customers? What is one of the parts of the marketing segment that booms the sales and the value of the brand?
Yes! It’s the Demographic Segmentation. It is a strategy that most marketers use to divide a large group of potential customers into minuscule groups. These are then based on certain characteristics like gender, age, income, education, and other details that are found to be important for a brand to go while they conduct a survey on it. The main goal here for the segmentation is to make a better understanding of the smaller group of people or potential customers so that one’s business can promote their product or services in a way that is preferable to each group and the company.
Let us take an example of a company which is selling a new smartphone in the market. Now they might realize that there are preferably more younger people who are interested in the latest tech. So, it is likely that they’d design their ads and do promotions that are going to appeal to their young audience while talking about the phone’s coolest advantages, and the latest feature.
However, this type of segmentation is really common because it’s not that difficult to gather information about such simple characteristics. It can be accumulated via various official public data like- population data, Surveys on the usage of the internet, surveys where people answer questions and many more.
But the question still arises, why is it all so important? Apart from knowing that the Demographic Segmentation is going to make brands face. Well, when companies understand who they are trying to sell their product or service to, they can come up with a lot better marketing plan. Instead of going with a one-size-fits-all approach, they can critically tailor their message and the way to strategies for each group. As it becomes more likely that after all of this, the marketing efforts will catch the attention of the people they want to reach.
It becomes obvious now that Demographic Segmentation has become a huge deal in marketing as it helps businesses figure out who’s their customers and how to sell to them in the best possible way.
What are the types of Variables
It was the year 1988 when a campaign was made live to serve its audience by the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy which made a storm in sports as well as the fashion industry. Through its campaign, it does not only resonate with the people who indulge themselves in sports but also the non-athletes who purchase it.
We are talking about the ‘Just Do It’ campaign which has not only become the fashion statement but also the face of the brand Nike. Since the ad became a huge success, Nike was quick to adapt its campaign as its slogan. Thus, the campaign helped the brand leverage its status in the global market as the world’s largest sportswear company.
But how does the marketing campaign become a huge success? Let’s find out through its variables.
Age
You might have heard a lot of times that targeting a specific audience is a must. When we say this, we mean putting your target audience into the age groups like 18 to 25, 25 to 40, etc. Age might be a basic concept for segmenting your products or services, however, it is a crucial factor that affects how people behave as a consumer. It becomes important to mention the age groups as different ages might’ve varied preferences.
To keep it simple you can imagine the term age as a life cycle: babies, kids, teenagers, adults, middle-aged, old-aged. However, it can also be differentiated by the generations like Boomers, Millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z.
Gender
For the Demographic Segmentation Gender coins to be one of the important variables. There certainly are different needs, interests and spending habits of different genders which result in segmented purchase of products or the usage of services.
For example, the assumption that men are likely to buy cars and tools, while women are more likely to make a purchase in clothing and cosmetics suits stereotypically. However, if one uses the gender variable in demographic segmentation, it is crucial to be aware of the gender role stereotypes.
Stereotypes can be harmful and may lead to inaccurate results, and controversy. One’s marketing strategy should not be based on assumptions about individuals or at least without fact, or survey. Though we should keep in mind apart from gender there are other demographic variables, such as age, income, and location, when creating campaigns.
This might give you a solution on how gender can be used in demographic segmentation: A retailer in the clothing industry might segment its customers by gender to make a different marketing campaign for varied genders. However, in an age where it’s all about respect and empathy toward each other as company, one should not impose prejudice on one’s choice.
Culture and Ethnicity
In marketing, this particular variable is used to find and figure out the things that people might like and how they might make a purchase of them. Folks with the same ethnic background or religious leaning might have similar interests or beliefs. For example, Muslims might prefer certain types of food, so we advertise that to them. Or we might offer financial services that match a certain religion’s values.
Sometimes we use pictures or symbols from a religious perspective to get their attention in ads. But we must keep looking for if there are any stereotypes associated or thinking that all the people from one group are the same, which can be sentimentally hurtful to the community.
Make a note that not everyone within a group acts the same way. People are unique. So, while ethnicity and religion can help us understand customers better, we need to look at other things too.
And do not miss out on trying different ways or approaches to see what works best in your case. It’s important to be respectful and smart when using ethnicity and religion to sell things and to make sure we’re treating everyone fairly.
Family Format
In marketing, we can use this to understand what families might need and like. Different types of families have different needs and habits. For example, families with babies might need baby stuff, and families, where the kids have moved out, might be interested in retirement stuff like BIMA policy or Life Insurance.
This segment also helps to market ads that show the kind of families we’re trying to reach. Like, if we’re selling stuff for happy families, we might show pictures of them having fun. Or if we’re trying to help single parents, we might use funny ads to catch their attention.
But remember, not all families of the same type are the same. Everyone’s different. And don’t forget to try different ways of reaching families and see what works best. It’s important to be fair and respectful when using family structure to sell things and to treat everyone with care
Income & Job
Think about selling things like cars or services. But let’s be pretty honest on this, it’s not rational thinking, that a company tries to sell an expensive car to a person who can’t afford a basic used car, right? That does not sound like logic.
When we talk about “income targeting,” it is like solving a puzzle of people from different backgrounds like, how much individuals from different income statuses spend. It’s important because it helps to know who can afford to buy what we are selling.
Just like you wouldn’t offer a fancy sports car to someone with a tight budget, you want to show products or services that match what people can afford.
Companies may use information on how much money people make in order to understand their spending capacity. So, in general, you might have an idea about someone who earns a higher income, they might certainly pay more to get luxury or worthy goods and vice versa.
“Occupation targeting” is another helpful thing. Different jobs mean different needs. For example, a doctor might need medical equipment, while a chef might want new kitchen gadgets. It’s like aiming your products at the right job titles.
So, by using income and job information, companies make sure they’re talking to the right people who can actually afford and need what they’re selling. It’s like fitting the right puzzle pieces together to help everyone find what they want.
Nevertheless, it is absolutely necessary to understand that you won’t always possibly be able to please the customer all the time. And that you might want to divide the category into demographic segments to cater for each need individually.
