Introduction

The article is based on a presentation by guest speaker, Ms Mercedes Gonzalez, Director, Global Purchasing Companies during an event “Magic Show”. The show avowed interesting discussion on strategies for emerging designers and new retailers, from concept to execution. She emphasised on the idea of how psychographics brings a stimulating comprehension and connects with employees, customers and their choice of products. For decades, marketers have been relying on demographic data such as age, gender, income and such other variables to understand the differences and commonalities among consumers in order to serve them with the products specific to their needs. But with changing time, growing population and cut throat competition, marketers started using psychographics to understand better their customers, employees, products and competition.

So what are these Psychographics?

Psychographics are characteristics that go beyond the demographics to focus on the target consumer’s psychology, lifestyles and behaviours. Factors like, the kind of hobbies and interests they have, the values or opinions they hold, and how they behave when put in different situations are studied. Such information can reveal very deep and unique differences among consumers based on the stores they shop, the products they purchase, and the brands to which they’re loyal. Psychographics can also help the employers to identify the most worthy candidate /employee for your store.

How do I find my employees and consumers through Psycho graphics/ Psycho graphic Variables?

Identifying the interests of your customers /employees will help you define their likes and dislikes, their vision and sustenance in your firm. Interests also define a person’s personality and direction of thinking.

Creating a conversation in the interview rather than looking in the quantitative qualification of the candidate will help you bridge the gap between consumer and their choice of product/service. A sales person in a store is like an entertainer. It takes a lot of character, like a showman who would define your store and understand your consumers’ needs. Instead of asking about their experience ask them questions like: Name 5 people in your fantasy that you would have on your speed dial, Name one store that you shop at, and you are embarrassed to tell anybody. Are you an early bird or a night Owl? In school you were known as? The reason behind asking such questions is letting the employees think on the spot, because crazy consumers are going to come to your store and can ask the most bizarre things. The idea is to procure honest and spontaneous replies, because it is really important that you and the one you are hiring are on the same boat.

Gauge Attitudes- Attitude is an expression of favour or disfavour towards a person, place, thing, or an event. This will help you understand your customers thought process better, so you can enhance your products, services and marketing strategies as well.Asking your customer’s opinions on certain topics can help uncover their attitudes, and help you figure out their values and motivations for buying your product or service. For example, a growing number of millennials care deeply about the environment, so a good open-ended question to ask your customers might be “What is your opinion on corporate accountability when it comes to environmental practices?”

The better you know your audience, the more focused you can be: “What is your opinion on sustainable products by Levis?” Not only can your customer’s answers help to guide your brand messages, they can also help your business meet their expectations in a way that demographics alone simply can’t.

Track Activities-Activities of your customers can help you understand their lifestyle and aspirations in life. This will help you design your products and services corresponding well with the target group.
Asking your target market about their hobbies will give you lots of useful information which you can use to target specific marketing channels and also guide how you write your ad copy. You should also ask them how they generally spend most of their free time. Today, the general attitudes of baby boomers are illuminating for marketers. This is the first generation of older people who aren’t leading linear lifestyles. For example, today baby boomers are obsessed about their lifestyle, so a good open-ended question to ask your customers might be “What are your plans after retirement? Certain section of the populace are getting divorced and are remarrying, going back to school late in life, and having children and stepchildren living under the same roof, such information will give you deeper insights about activities and changing lifestyle scenarios of various age groups.

Psychographic data also helps you figure out other important details like

• What kinds of blog posts get the most interaction?
• What kinds of emails get opened most frequently?
• What types of offers get redeemed most often?

How do I get my hands on psychographic data?

Sometimes it’s as simple as asking your customers to tell you what they care about which could be in the form of customer feedback in following simple ways:

• Feedback generated through a small Q&A session post shopping via credit and loyalty cards.
• Collecting In-Store surveys and product reviews through feedback diaries and feedback installation systems in the store.
• Participating in various fairs and exhibitions and garner customer attention
• Commenting on product blogs, responding to email campaigns, and interacting through social media.

Don’t get left behind

Combining demographic data with psychographic information can generate meaningful and high-value consumer segments for the organizations and shops, which will enable you to ultimately target the right consumers more effectively.