hographic Segmentation – The Variables to Better Understand Your Audience //

User segmentation is a must for engaging and converting leads and prospects. Psychographic segmentation goes beyond demographic, geographical, and behavioral segments to understand the individual as a person.

What is psychographic segmentation?

The psychographic segmentation approach is a method of marketing research that divides consumers into different groups according to psychological factors that influence their buying behavior. These include personality, values and beliefs, lifestyles, attitudes, hobbies, activities, interests, etc. Using psychographic segmentation you can not only learn who your customers are, but also how they think, and what motivates their lives.

Why is psychographic segmentation so important?

When combined with demographic data and other data, psychologically segmenting an audience allows marketers to better understand their audience.

1. Understanding customer motivation By identifying people’s lifestyle patterns, you can get into the mind of your target audience. This helps you not only to better understand their wants and needs, but also their motivations behind choosing certain products. You can then tailor your message accordingly.
2. Create personalized marketing communications. Customers expect brands to provide a personalized service. You can create targeted marketing campaigns by leveraging psychographic segments. These will speak directly to the individual needs and wants of your audience.
3. Increase online advertising and audience interaction. Create highly targeted ads that speak directly to your audience’s values and interests. You can do this by sharing your content with others, joining discussions and becoming a loyal client base.
4. Improve conversion rates and lead generation by analyzing your customer’s values, pain points and reasons for their actions. You can then create landing pages and ads that are more effective, with messaging and design that is aligned with their psychographic characteristics. It will increase conversions, and bring in more leads who are more likely purchase. Your messaging will also resonate on a deeper and more personal level with your customers.
5. Differentiate yourself and gain a competitive edge. Personalized communications are more effective in capturing attention and building stronger relationships with your audience.

Examples of psychographic segmentation

Here are some examples of ads that successfully used psychographic segmentation in campaigns.

For example, this Wild Clean ad resonates with consumers based on value–like using environmentally-friendly products to save the earth.

Meal delivery service is another good example of a psychographic-targeted ad. These businesses should target those who like to spend time with their family, as a meal-delivery service can free up some time. Also, they may target people who are health-conscious, regularly exercise, or have dietary restrictions. Daily harvest targets several segments of interest, and all would enjoy the meal delivery service. In the video and description, they promote the benefits of time-saving and healthy food.

Look at this ASPCA ad which speaks directly to people who are socially aware and willing to help others without seeking personal gain.

This Intercom advertisement is a great example of psychographic segmentation, aimed at middle-class people who are interested in expanding their business.

This Carnival advertisement speaks to several psychographic groups – middle-class and upper-class people who can afford to take a cruise. You would be a fool to show this ad to anyone in the lower class because they are unlikely to spend their limited funds on luxuries like cruising.

The art of psychographic segmentation has been mastered by business giants. For example, Nike targets customers who are passionate about sports, regardless of whether they’re professional athletes or people who enjoy going to the gym and training outdoors in stylish sportswear.

Psychographic segmentation variables

Psychographic variables are highly correlated with the buying behaviors of customers. These include personality, values and lifestyle, hobbies, interests and social class. Each is further divided into subcategories. Take a look at each of the five psychographic segments.

1. Personality

Personality is the primary factor that defines one’s purchasing preferences. By using this criteria, psychographic segmentation takes into account people’s morals, beliefs, motivations and outlook on life in order to create buyer profiles. This segment can have different subgroups. One company divides customers into personality types:

• Belongers is the most common personality type in America. They tend to be more mainstream than other people, wanting to always fit in with family, friends and the community. They do not want to be different, isolated or change.
• Achievers tend to be ambitious, are always busy, must constantly be productive and dislike any activity they perceive as a waste. They are materialistic, and they buy luxury items as a way to show their success.
• Emulators are Achievers who lack the necessary skills or work ethic. They often buy expensive products they cannot afford, or knock-offs to look successful.
• Saviors strive to be great for everyone, not just themselves. Socially aware people, they go out of their ways to help others.
• Doomsdayers see nothing but destruction and doom for humanity. They are self-sufficient and have strong opinions about everything.
• Integrators Are Achievers and Saviors. They try to make as much money as they can, but spend it on charitable causes rather than on themselves. Only 1-2% of people fit into this psychographic personality category.
• Survivists are often forced to work paycheck-to-paycheck to make ends meet, whether by their own choice or because they grew up in poverty. They do not plan their purchases or spend money in a haphazard manner because they are afraid of losing everything.

You may find that your company’s data allows you to create different subcategories of personality in order to better define customers and incorporate psychographic segmentation within your advertising strategy. The goal of segmenting customers into these categories, regardless of the method used, is to identify which subcategories will most likely see value in your service or product.

2. Enjoy the Lifestyle

It is the best way to understand what someone values and how they spend time and money. This includes daily habits such as morning coffee, having pets, etc. You must consider three aspects of a person’s life: their activities, interests and opinions, which are commonly referred to by as “AIO variables.” Activities, interests and opinions make up a large group of psychographic segments, so they will be discussed separately.

The opinion of a person determines if they find a product useful or important. People have strong opinions on religion, politics, the environment, and culture, which can influence what they buy, how they respond, and even their response to advertising messages.

3. Hobbies and Interests

The interests and hobbies of an individual are very important. They reveal what they enjoy and dislike, what makes them excited, and what their passions are in life. This will help you determine what they’re willing to spend money on. Sports, music and books, art, community events, media, entertainment etc. Everyone’s hobbies and interests are different, and this knowledge can help you improve your marketing. Start broad and then narrow down your research as you learn more about the prospect.

The importance of activities is also important for psychographic segmentation. The activities are based on what people enjoy doing (and how much they will spend on it), the frequency with which they do them, and their purchases based on those activities. Someone who wants to play soccer will need a soccer ball. They may also need cleats or shinguards, depending on the amount of time they intend to spend playing. If they intend to play regularly or compete, they may also want to invest in private lessons and a membership with a local league.

The way two people make their purchases can also differ, even if they have the same level of activity. One person may research the type and quality cleats they want to purchase, while another might consult with a friend or specialist. Each person may spend different amounts on different cleats.

4. Social class

When setting up targeting, psychographic segmentation takes into account social hierarchy because social classes have different purchasing power. You will not be able to sell your products if you choose the wrong target group. This concept can be used for account-based marketing. If an enterprise software company is looking to reach the C-suite, it will need to target and segment higher authority employees.

The most common social classes that the population can be divided into are:

1. The richest class or those at the top of the upper class, who have likely never dealt with the poor.
2. The bottom upper class who has earned their wealth knows how hard it is to get there. They spend their money on what they like, but not as extravagantly as those in the upper class.
3. People in the top-middle class are financially comfortable and focused on career development. They can afford to spend on “finer things” in life without being reckless.
4. The middle-lower class is able to provide for the basic needs of their family (food, shelter and clothing) And occasional extras. Even so, big purchases are carefully considered based on logistics and finances.
5. Blue-collar workers are the top-lower classes. They earn only enough to survive and nothing more. They are always trying to save and work as hard as they can.
6. The bottom class is made up of underemployed and unemployed people who live below the average standard of living. They spend their limited income on the essentials, and in some cases even have to forgo these.

5. Values

Our family upbringing and our cultural background determine who we are, and how we live. Individuals’ attitudes towards a certain event or product can influence their purchasing behavior. People raised to be conservative and frugal will not take on risky projects. Therefore, targeting such people for conversions is doomed. Marketers should consider the fact that each prospective customer has a different view of a product depending on their background and life values.

While working on psychographic segmentation, marketers should not only consider the above patterns. The difference is also made by the consumption patterns and spending habits of customers. They refer to the way people find products and services, buy them, and use them. A habit is when an individual always spends the exact same amount within the same conditions. (For example, purchasing souvenirs during vacations, eating out on paydays, or donating to a certain organization on a certain day). These regular actions can be influenced by our culture, family tradition, or the media.

The categories and subcategories described overlap and coexist. Psychographic segmentation is a method of creating a customer profile that is based on combining various variables. We’ll see how to conduct a target market investigation.

Psychographic segmentation research methods

Psychographic segmentation requires businesses to have quality, in-depth data about their target audiences. Psychographic segmentation is a popular research method.

1. Questionnaires and surveys. These simple tools can help you gather information on customer preferences, opinions and values. For a richer qualitative experience, surveys shouldn’t take too long. They should also include both closed-ended questions and open-ended ones. Cost-effective surveys and questionnaires allow you to cover large numbers of people.
2. Focus groups and in-depth interviews. Asking the right questions in direct one-toone communication can reveal a lot about your customer’s personality, lifestyle, values, and more. Focus groups are a great way to explore the individual perspective and dynamics of a group. This allows you to uncover emotional aspects and nuances that quantitative methods often miss.
3. This method of psychographic segmentation watches consumers in their environment. This method involves capturing the essence of consumers’ lifestyles by documenting real-life interactions and habits. This is a time-consuming method compared to interviews and questionnaires, but provides rich qualitative data.
4. Online behavior tracking and social media analysis. Digital Analytics helps to evaluate people’s browsing habits online and their social media behaviors, including likes, tweets and shares. These analytics provide insight into the content that resonates and the online behavior patterns of your audience.

Companies often combine different psychographic segmentation techniques to get the most accurate and up-to date data. Each research method contributes its own unique thread that provides a nuanced picture of your audience.

Psychographic segmentation is a marketing tool that can be used to target customers.

In order to implement psychographic segmentation in marketing campaigns, the first step is to collect psychographic information using the research methods described above. Next, analyze the data collected and categorize your customers. Divide your customer base into smaller groups that share similar characteristics. Segmentation in depth is key to creating targeted campaigns that increase customer engagement.

Create customer personas for each segment once you have completed the psychographic segmentation. This will help you to visualize your typical consumer and understand their motivations. In order to create personalized brand messaging and product positioning, it is important to personalize the message for each persona. It is important to create content and designs that are unique and will connect with each segment of your audience and motivate them to buy.

Psychographic segmentation and customer personas allow companies to tailor their messaging and value propositions to each customer segment. They can also create unique messages that highlight what makes your product special and how it meets a particular segment’s needs. If you want to appeal to business professionals you might focus on the product’s efficiency. Make your message sound eco-friendly and green to appeal to the environmentally conscious customer segment.

Psychographic segmentation should not be done once and for ever. You should always check your data to ensure that it is relevant, and conduct new research and analyses periodically. You can check if segmentation messages work by looking at conversion rates and engagement metrics.

Psychographic segmentation vs. behavioral segmentation

A holistic understanding of customers is crucial to driving sales. Understanding your customers’ behavior and why they act the way they do is more important than simply knowing their names. Both are important, but psychographic and behavior segmentation have different approaches.

Psychographic segmentation is a way to understand what motivates people and why they make their purchases. behavioral segments, on the other hand focus more on customer actions and behaviors. It categorizes individuals according to their buying behavior, their product usage, their interactions with the brand and their responses to marketing campaigns. The behavioral segmentation of customers can reveal patterns like customer loyalty, purchasing frequency, benefits desired, and purchase readiness.

Psychographic segmentation helps to understand the “why” behind consumer decisions. Behavioral segmentation provides insight into ‘what’ consumers actually do. The combination of both strategies provides a holistic picture of your audience. This allows you to develop more personalized and effective marketing campaigns, which are tailored to your audience’s interests, values, and behavior.

Takeaways from psychographic segmentation and marketing

Digital relationships between brands and prospects/customers can feel inhuman and disconnected. Marketing teams must use sophisticated techniques, such as psychographic segmentation, in their advertising campaigns. The better you understand a person, you will be able to offer a more personalized value proposition.

Psychographic segmentation is a great way to create a personalized brand message for each segment. This will improve customer engagement, generate more leads and drive sales.

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Author: Stephanie Mialki