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UFirst Now - Demographics: Understanding Your Target Market

Let’s say you’re a shop owner and a random customer comes into your store and purchases an item with cash and then leaves. Ask yourself these questions:

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you’ve probably eliminated any chance to make that person a repeat customer. To solve this problem, you need to understand your demographics and how to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.

The demographics that are of interest to your business are the average/typical characteristics of the customers who buy your products and/or services. These characteristics include, but are not restricted to, the following indentifying factors:

Age/Gender/Race

Gross Annual Income

Education Level

Occupation Category (e.g., industry type)

Size of Household

Residence (Rent/Own)

Marital Status

Taking demographics one step further, psychographics includes IAO variables (interest, activities, and opinions). These variables and human behavior attributes include personality, interests, lifestyles, values, attitudes, etc.

The most effective way to fine-tune your marketing efforts is to combine the marketing research datum derived from both the demographics and psychographics applicable to your region. In fact, to define a demographic, most marketers combine several variables to create a profile.

A demographic profile provides enough information about the typical member of this group to develop a mental picture of this hypothetical aggregate. For example, a motorcycle manufacturer might tailor advertising based of the following demographic profile:

single, male, middle-class, ages 16–24, with some college

Marketing researchers typically have two objectives. First: Determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall population. Second: Create a clear and concise picture of the characteristics of an average/typical member of each of these segments or subgroups.

Once these profiles are constructed and contrasted, they can be used to develop a marketing strategy. Marketing research can be conducted using in-house resources or by hiring an outside agency.

Business Cards Mean Business

With the increase in social networking as a medium to meet new client prospects, one form of marketing your business is slowly being forgotten: business cards. In fact, business cards are probably one of the most powerful, yet ignored weapons in your marketing arsenal. A face-to-face meeting closed with an exchange of business cards will trump a text or e-mail every time!

The argument on what to include, and what NOT to include, on your business card is an ongoing discussion. That’s because it is different for every situation. A sales executive will probably include every possible method to reach them, even during evening hours. On the other hand, a call center employee might only have generic contact information with no direct way to reach them.

Because business cards are a memory aid for your new contact, ensure what information on there is something you would give out to anyone. You have no idea where your business card might end up so don’t be surprised if you start receiving spam on your phone or e-mail. Use the back to write anything specific that your contact might need instead of including it on every card.

A typical business will include the following:

Company Name
Employee’s Name
Logo or Slogan
Street Address
Telephone Number(s)
E-mail, Website, etc.

Traditional business cards are not much than black text on white card stock. Boring! As long as you stay within a few boundaries, such as size (2” x 3.5”), the sky’s the limit on coming up with a striking visual design. One word of advice, do not print your business cards at home. A homemade business card reeks cheap and the serrated edges are a sure giveaway that you don’t value your product or service.