Next Step in Targeting: Psychographics

When it comes to targeting, it’s all about the data. How good is it? How deep is it? How well is it used? One way to improve the power of your data—no matter how little of it you have—is to use psychographics.

Psychographics differs from demographics in that demographics refers to external characteristics such as age, income, geographic location and level of education.

Psychographics refers to how people in those demographic classifications are likely to behave. Are they optimistic or pessimistic? Do they tend to make impulse purchases or are they thrifty? Are they risk takers or do they like security? What motivates them? Job security? Peer pressure? Desire for recognition?

Psychographics are becoming increasingly important in 1:1 marketing. One exciting benefit is that they allow you to maximize your use of basic demographic data in very powerful ways.

To illustrate, let’s look at two very important psychographic groups in today’s marketplace: Hispanic teens and “green” consumers.

Psychographic Group #1: Hispanic Teens

Hispanic teens are an important demographic for marketers because of their explosive growth and purchasing power. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanic youth represent 20 percent of the total U.S. teen population. Within 10 years, they are forecast to represent 62 percent of the entire youth population.

In 2008—as reported in MediaPost’s Engage Teens, “The Hispanic Youth Market: Too Big to Ignore,” July 16, 2009—the Intelligence Group released an in-depth psychographic study of the Hispanic youth market, “2008 Latino Lifestyle Study.” It highlighted four key insights about Hispanic youth:

First, there is no statistical difference between Hispanic youth and the general youth population in relation to their heavy use of social media like Facebook. Second, young Latinas feel empowered and excited about the independence, and the choices they have, whihc is a big difference from previous generations.

Young Hispanics are largely optimistic and social. They more likely to say they are “happy,” compared to non-Latinos (63 percent vs. 53 percent).

The article also reports marketing to Hispanic teens is more effective when using “lifestyle activators” such as music, food, entertainment, literature and travel—more so than education, hard work and the American Dream: “[Hispanic teens] are extroverted, outgoing, outspoken and—above all—wired. They are defined by culture, not exclusively by language—at least not the Spanish language. They have tremendous Latin pride, and social networking is a starting point for their large web of social interactions,” writes the article’s author, Jose Villa.

Clearly, you would not market to Hispanic teens the same way you would another demographic. A quick Internet search on “marketing to Hispanic teens” reveals a plethora of articles, specialty marketing firms and resources to help you adjust the tone, the flavor, and the approach you would use.

Psychographic Group #2: Green Consumers

Another very important psychographic group is the “green” consumer or lifestyles of health and sustainability consumer (LOHAS). Understanding the psychographics of these consumers is important because for companies that pursue the “green” angle, just marketing a green product isn’t enough.

Psychographics can make a tremendous difference in the success of your next campaign.

For this customer base, the marketer must be sincere in its own commitment to environmental sustainability, and show genuine sensitivity to the needs and concerns of its customer base.

So who are these LOHAS consumers? Collette Chandler of Keyboard Culture describes them (among other things) as leading-edge thinkers and early adopters, with higher-than-average education.

While these consumers have average incomes, they are among the least price-sensitive, and tend to be extremely brand loyal. This makes them a very coveted group.

So what drives LOHAS consumers to make the purchases they do? Some of the drivers of include:

• They are driven by the need to show kindness to our planet.
• They want purchase from companies that are authentic and “real.”
• They want to purchase from companies that appear to understand who they are and what they care about.
• They want to know that the marketer is not just in it to make a quick buck.
• They want to know that the companies they are purchasing from are—themselves—responsible and good stewards of the environment.
• They value the interconnectedness of global economies, cultural, environmental and political systems, as well as mind, body and spirit; they looking to achieve “the full human potential.”
• They want to get involved in a cause and make a difference.

As a marketer, ask yourself how these psychographics would make a difference in your marketing. How would you market to these people differently than you would another customer or prospect group?

Psychographics Make a Difference

These are just two examples of very different psychographic groups, but it should be clear why psychographics make such a difference.

You might present your message very differently to Hispanic teens than you would teens at large. You would present your message very differently to LOHAS consumers than you would to retirees.

Earlier, I said that you don’t need detailed data in order to use psychographics. This is because you can use psychographics to do some basic segmentation.

Age and ethnicity, for example, are easily appended to any database, and by first applying psychographic profiles to certain key demographic segments, then doing even basic personalization on top of that, you’ve just made your campaign that much more powerful without adding a lot of variables.

Psychographics can make a tremendous difference in the success of your next campaign. While the word may sound scary, implementing them doesn’t have to be.

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro is an industry writer, an analyst specializing in digital workflow and technologies. If you would like to contact her, the e-mail address is [email protected].