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Demographic Targeting: How to Choose your Customers

Demographic Targeting: How to Choose your Customers

Demographic targeting is the art of sending specific advertising messages to certain groups of people based on demographic criteria such as gender, age, interests, etc. This is a very effective method of reaching out to target audiences.

This is the best time to do business with your prospects. You get to see how they're doing, how they're spending money, and how they're responding to your offers. Demographic targeting is a powerful sales tool when you have a long list of qualified prospects. 

Demographic targeting is when you segment your market based on age, gender, location, and interest levels. This helps you target the exact customers you need, so you can reach them and deliver great content and products to make their buying journey easier.

I'm sure you've heard about the concept of demographic targeting. It's choosing people who are most likely to buy your product based on age, gender, location, and income.

But you're mistaken if you think that's all there is to it.

In this guide, you'll discover how to choose your customers – and which ones to ignore.

You'll also discover the best ways to get them to come back and how to measure whether your efforts are working.

So, no matter what you sell, how you market it, or how you plan to get your customers to buy, demographic targeting is an essential skill to master.

What Is Demographic Targeting?

What Is Demographic Targeting
Source: Instapage

Demographic targeting refers to identifying and selecting individuals with the characteristics you want to target and excluding those that do not fit your needs. It is a form of micro-segmentation.

Demographic targeting is a type of marketing that involves analysing consumer behaviour, preferences, and demographics to identify and select a group of people who are most likely to buy from your company. This method assumes that you are targeting a specific group of customers, so you must understand your customer base well enough to identify them and tailor your marketing efforts accordingly.

Demographic targeting is also called segmentation marketing or micro-targeting. When we talk about demographics, we're talking about an individual's attributes, like gender, age, and income level. We also talk about the collective behaviour of groups of people, like geographic regions or generations.

How Does Demographic Targeting Work?

To create demographic targeting, you first need to collect data that tells you which demographic factors to include in your targeting. You may have information like customer age, gender, and income level. If you don't have that data, you can look into public databases like Nielsen and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Once you have the demographic data you want, you'll use it to generate a profile of a specific group of people. Once you've done that, you'll look at the data again to determine whether the people in that demographic group are buying the products or services you sell. If the answer is yes, you'll want to continue the process. If it's no, you'll want to exclude this group of people from your targeting list.

Best Demographics for Demographic Targeting

Here are the most common demographics you should consider using for targeting purposes.

Demographics: Age

The first thing to think about when doing demographic targeting is your customer's age. Many retailers will look at age and decide what they want to target. For example, if you're looking to sell pet food to millennials, you may want to consider targeting people ages 18 to 34.

This age group tends to make up the most significant percentage of people who shop online, spending more money on your products than any other age group. They are also more likely to be mobile shoppers.

Demographics: Gender

You'll also want to consider gender as a demographic factor. Men and women buy more similar products than they would, and both genders tend to spend differently.

Women purchase makeup and skincare products, while men spend more on technology, electronics, home goods, and tools. You'll also want to consider the differences between the genders when looking for potential customers.

Demographics: Income Level

While not the most popular demographic to use for targeting, it's important to consider income levels. People tend to buy similar products at the same price, regardless of their income.

The difference in pricing is usually determined by the level of service that comes with the product or the quality of the product itself. The higher the income, the more expensive the product.

Demographics: Geography

As a last resort, you may consider geography a demographic factor for targeting. You can use location data to predict purchasing behaviours, but it's never been proven to work very well.

People in the same area buy similar products, and those who live farther away from your business tend to spend less.

Targeting Demographics with Demographics

There are two ways to target demographics with demographic targeting. You can either use an automated system that collects the information from your website, app, or social media accounts, or you can manually enter the information yourself.

Automated systems are more time-consuming than manual ones but are also the most effective. You can choose from several companies that specialise in these services, but you'll have to check their pricing to ensure it's within your budget.

Manual entry is the simplest way to go, though it's more tedious. You'll need to collect data about every demographic factor, so the more data points you have, the better. You may even want to get as much detail as possible, like the number of children a person has, their relationship status, etc.

Why You Need to Use Demographic Targeting

While demographic targeting is a great way to narrow down your leads and find your ideal customer, it's also important to consider how much data you have available on your customer base. We know there is a vast amount of information out there on Facebook, and we also know that it's often hard to sift through it all to find the answers we need.

We've gathered a list of reasons why demographic targeting is so helpful when creating your website marketing campaigns so that you can start using it today!

1 – It allows you to target the exact people you want to reach rather than the people you think might want your product or service.

By targeting your audience based on their interests, activities, and other key demographics, you can find the right leads for your business in no time.

2 – It helps you save money.

Demographic targeting is affordable because it's easy to set up. You only pay for what you see value in, and if it's worth it for your business, it's worth it for us!

3 – It's constantly updating.

Your demographic targeting constantly changes, so you'll never run out of new options to reach the right audience.

4 – It's an intelligent option for multi-channel marketing.

Because demographic targeting allows you to target across social media platforms, your marketing campaigns are far more effective.

5 – It's easy to scale.

With demographic targeting, you can reach a much larger audience with less work. You won't have to spend hours each day checking your email and social media accounts to find your customers, and you can focus on building your brand and generating sales instead.

Demographic targeting is essential for any business that wants to reach the right customers online. With a few clicks, you can create the perfect marketing campaign for your brand, sure to generate high results.

Why Are Demographics So Important?

In 2022, according to DataReportal, there were nearly 3 billion users of Facebook. This number continues to rise every year. So, if your business isn't using demographic targeting to reach your ideal audience, you're missing out on an enormous opportunity.

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When you begin to use demographic targeting on your website marketing campaigns, you'll quickly notice the difference in the type of leads you receive. You can be sure that you're reaching the right audience and sending them valuable content that will help them understand your business and learn more about it.

The best part is that you can start implementing demographic targeting for free!

How Demographics Can Help You Sell More Products

Identify Target Audience Users

You'll probably notice common traits about any market or product. This holds for your business.

Demographic groups share specific preferences, buying behaviours, and other characteristics. Knowing these can help you market to them in a way that resonates with them, resulting in higher sales.

Here are some examples of demographics and what they mean for your products and services:

Age

Older buyers are generally more affluent and less brand loyal. If you sell a home improvement or appliance, your target market would likely be people 55 and over.

Men are usually more brand loyal than women and more interested in deals than women. Men also have larger budgets and are more interested in big-ticket items, such as a car, houses, or boats.

Baby Boomers

This group tends to be more financially stable and has more disposable income than younger generations. They also have much time on their hands and are increasingly looking for ways to save money.

As this group ages, they're more interested in technology, travel, and experiences and are less concerned with price.

Generation X

These consumers tend to be between the Baby Boomer and Millennial generations but still have much disposable income. They have an entrepreneurial spirit, often wanting to try new things and test the limits.

They're often brand loyal and interested in high-quality, functional, fashionable products.

Millennials

Millennials are the newest generation of consumers and have the highest rates of online shopping. They have access to such information and are open to trying new brands, styles, and technologies.

Millennials are also mobile and willing to try products accessible via their smartphones, like ride-sharing apps.

If you want to sell your products to the specific demographic groups listed above, consider these three things:

  1. What are their spending habits?
  2. How do they shop?
  3. How do they buy?

Let's take a look at each one of these points:

1 – What Are Their Spending Habits?

Your customers have a budget. What do they spend their money on? Some of them may be able to afford to spend on a new luxury item, like a smartphone, or a vacation, while others may be more conservative with their spending.

Knowing your target market is looking to spend can help you choose a product or service that aligns with their interests and lifestyle.

For example, someone who owns a home and has a mortgage is unlikely to be interested in your short-term savings product.

2 – How Do They Shop?

The way your customers shop is essential. Understanding how they decide to purchase something can help you better understand what they're looking for and what kind of products or services they may want.

Some people may go to brick-and-mortar stores, while others are more likely to look for products online.

3 – How Do They Buy?

Suppose you know how your target audience shops; then you'll know what kinds of products they're likely to buy. For example, people with kids are likely to be interested in baby care products, while people with pets are more likely to own grooming and health products.

Knowing this information can help create a more targeted and successful marketing plan.

Who are your ideal customers?

High Value Customers Performance Marketing

The process is easy if you're interested in targeting potential customers based on demographic data, such as age, gender, income, or location.

To find your ideal customers, start with a keyword search. You'll need to know what keywords your ideal customers are searching for. After that, you can see who uses the keywords you want to target and create campaigns based on that information.

How to Find Your Ideal Customers With Demographics

You'll need to know which keywords best fit your product or service. Some of these keywords will be more valuable than others, depending on what your products or services are. For example, if you have an eCommerce business, you can collect data on product searches, giving insights into the kinds of products your potential customers are looking for.

You can then set up campaigns based on that information, ensuring your ads appear in the right places. For example, if your keywords show that most people searching for a product are over 30 years old, you could target your ad specifically to that audience.

What is the Difference Between Demographics and Behavioral Targeting?

Demographics and behavioural targeting are similar in that they both involve collecting information about your audience, but the difference lies in how information is used.

In demographics, the information you collect is limited to a few pieces of data, such as age, gender, or location. In behavioural targeting, the information is much broader and includes information such as purchases or site visits.

In other words, demographics is about finding your ideal customers. In contrast, behavioural targeting determines which customers are most likely to buy your products or click on your ads.

Does Demographic Targeting Work?

Many studies show that demographic targeting is effective. People who use targeted marketing are more likely to make purchases than those who do not and are more engaged with your brand than those who aren't.

For example, in one study, online shoppers were asked to rate the quality of their purchases based on their first impressions. Consumers were more likely to trust a product when they were marketed by a friend or trusted brand.

So, while demographic targeting is helpful in that it allows you to find your ideal customers, it can also lead to more purchases and better customer satisfaction.

What Is Behavioural Targeting?

Behavioural Targeting
Source: FreshRelevance

Behavioural targeting works by analysing user behaviour to find patterns in what people are doing on your site so that you can deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.

It is a more holistic approach to digital marketing and a way of knowing your audience by understanding their behaviour on your website.

This information can come from many sources, including what people type into a search bar, what pages they visit, and even what links they click.

By understanding your audience's habits, you can target the right messages at the right time. In one example, Tailwind found that more than 50% of online shoppers are willing to change their credit card information. This allowed the company to build relationships with its customers and then communicate with them when they were most likely to buy.

This data can be used to generate a range of ideas. For example, you can target your messaging to those considering making a purchase. This is more timely than sending emails whenever you want to promote a new product.

However, there are several drawbacks to this type of targeting. It relies heavily on technology, which can sometimes be unreliable. So, if you're concerned about the security of your data, you might want to go with demographic targeting instead.

Is Behavioural Targeting More Effective?

While behavioural targeting may be a little more time-consuming than demographic targeting, it is also more effective. A study found that in comparison to demographic targeting, behavioural targeting resulted in a 9.2% lift in conversions.

That may seem like a slight increase, but a business that generates just $1,000 in monthly revenue could mean an extra $108.

This is because behavioural targeting uses your data to find out what your customers want rather than relying on a demographic profile that may be outdated.

Conclusion

Demographic targeting is one of the oldest methods for choosing customers. It works by using data on the characteristics of people who visit a particular site to determine which ones are most likely to purchase your products.

For example, you might use data on age, gender, location, and income to select which types of customers you want to target. This targeting is often used to find new customers or target them with special offers.

However, you can also use demographic targeting to keep existing customers engaged and satisfied. Your brand can be relevant to many people while still targeting specific groups.

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Stuart Crawford

Stuart Crawford is an award-winning creative director and brand strategist with over 15 years of experience building memorable and influential brands. As Creative Director at Inkbot Design, a leading branding agency, Stuart oversees all creative projects and ensures each client receives a customised brand strategy and visual identity.

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