One of the most important factors in marketing is getting to know your target market. In a vast world filled with consumers of different influences & interests, Demographic Segmentation happens to be one of the most powerful and useful methods of classification because it makes the differences of a large group of individuals identifiable. It also saves a lot of time while doing market research and promotions.
The name of this method of segmentation itself suggests that it is based on demographics, which is basically the study of population, ands because of diversity, it has quite a number of different categories in which individuals could be classified in, which breaks the market into smaller more specific segments.
Some of these variables found under Demographic Segmentation include:
•Age—Age differences promote conflicts of interests considering that there are influences present in every decade’s culture.
•Life Cycle Periods— Children, adolescents, adults and seniors alike all have needs and these needs cannot be classified under age, but more in the stages of life. Infants for example have more meticulous needs compared to a toddler, while a senior compared to both would not need some things such as toys but would rather require things that younger generations would possibly not need.
•Gender—Boys will be boys and girls will be girls. Though they both have common interests, there are just some needs and wants that are more gender specific. Beauty and wellness for example is more likely to strike the interest of women than that of men, while men would prefer something more masculine like electronics and appliances.
•Ethnicity/Race—The world is a melting pot of people with different shapes and different sizes, of different races and roots. There are many different countries with diverse cultures and beliefs. Some take to be more adventurous than others and some prefer to stick with their culture and things they are most familiar and comfortable with.
•Nationality – Some decisions people make are inclined to their sense of patriotism, and the different messages sent out by ads that appeal to their local customs.
•Religion—People have different beliefs and most affected by religion and the customs and rules of their religion, some decisions made are affected by that.
•Income—A consumer simply purchases what he can afford. Those with higher income can afford more luxurious things, while the consumers from lower to middle class would prefer something more practical and efficient, or something exactly the same but more cost efficient.
•Social Standards—Individuals will always have a preference. Some prefer the quality of an item over quantity and while others prefer otherwise. It may also depend on society’s opinion on what is a good brand of products or services and what are considered bad.
Possessing many advantages, Demographic Segmentation continues to prevail as the most popular form of market segmentation because it is so much more convenient to obtain and quantify this way compared to most other methods of segmentation, making it easier for any organization to segregate the wants of consumers based on demographics.
