Thinking Beyond Simple Demographics
Posted: November 4th, 2008
Businesses are generally quite adept in determining who their customers are, thanks to market research. Unfortunately, these customers are usually defined and categorized simplistically with demographic information such as age, income, geographical location, sex, language, household size, education, marital status, etc. These demographics provide a solid starting point for knowing who is in the target market, but to deliver the best user experience to visitors of a website, one must truly understand the customers within this market.
In order to completely satisfy your customers’ needs (not necessarily “wants”), you should understand who they are in terms of their personal values, how they think, how they make decisions, and any other major influences. Some questions you should ask yourself are: why are these people at your website and; what are they trying to accomplish in the most basic terms.
The second round of questions that follows should answer whether or not there is a better way for you to deliver the goods and help your customers accomplish their goals. Is there a cheaper or more efficient way to do this? All those extra “web 2.0″ widgets on your website may be appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed, but are they really a game-changer for your target market?
Mapping out your customers’ hopes, dreams and ambitions can also lead to long-term gains down the road, that would have otherwise been overlooked if only demographics were taken into account. In the process of understanding your visitors, you will be aware of their values, changing tastes, developing behaviours, and new-found preferences. For example, will mobile integration become an important aspect for your customers?
Going thoroughly through your customers’ psyches will also allow you to give what your trend-setting customers want, while making the transition process natural so that it’s easier for everyone else to follow. Thinking beyond simple demographics can enable you to find opportunities and get (or stay) ahead of your competitors for years to come.
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