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In our last blog, we discussed the importance of creativity in marketing and how marketers can better foster their creative development. While creativity is vital as a marketer, there are other areas you need to focus on as well, like understanding niche and target markets. Your target market is made up of a group of consumers that you want your message to reach. Whether your message is about a product or service, you want to find out who your target audience is and how you can concentrate your efforts on attracting their business. 

Many marketing and advertising professionals establish their target audience with market segmentation, breaking broad consumer markets down into different segments. Let’s take a look into the major market segments many industries use:

Demographic Segmentation

In many cases, demographics are critical when determining who your target audience is, and it’s probably the most straightforward data to gather. When you’re segmenting demographics, you’re grouping people based on measurable statistics like:

  • Age
  • Income 
  • Education
  • Race
  • Gender
  • Religion
  • Marital status

These statistical figures give you an accurate and factual representation of who you are trying to reach. Consider a simplified example of a luxury car company that wants to directly focus their marketing efforts toward consumers that can afford to purchase their vehicles. The company will likely direct a majority of its marketing and advertising to consumers that reach a specific income level. 

Psychographic Segmentation

Depending on the product or service, many marketers focus on the psychographic market segment. Psychographics concentrate on the various traits of the consumer market. This is where you tend to see benefits from marketing tools like case studies, focus groups, and surveys. By focusing on psychographics, you’re learning who your consumer really is. It’s less about the facts and statistics, and more about:

  • Personality traits
  • Personal values and Interests 
  • Lifestyles
  • Socioeconomic status

For industries like fashion, psychographics are also a great marketing tool for finding your target audience. Stella McCartney is a world-renowned designer and animal rights activist. Her luxury brand targets a few different areas of psychographics, like socioeconomic status and personal values. McCartney coupled both her passions to create a brand for two niche markets. 

Geographic Segmentation

Geographic segmentation takes the focus of your message off the consumer values and demographics and directs it toward their geographic location. Companies that utilize geographic segmentation in their marketing efforts are often gathering data and information based on:

  • City
  • State
  • Region
  • Country
  • Zip Code
  • Neighborhood

It’s an excellent segmentation tool for local businesses or companies that focus on seasonal type products like clothing apparel. Swimwear companies may direct their marketing campaigns heavily toward consumers that live in warm or tropical climates, while companies that produce winter and snow gear will do the opposite. 

Behavioral Segmentation

Psychographics, geographics, and demographics focus on consumer statistics and personal qualities like who they are and where they live. Behavioral segmentation directs that focus more on the consumer’s actions, like:

  • Spending habits
  • Purchasing habits
  • Brand loyalty

These actions give marketers an accurate example of how their target market interacts with their chosen brands. Consider a brand you use regularly, or continue to go back to to make a purchase; what brands are you staying loyal to for an extended period of time? In the automobile industry, consumers are often loyal to car brands that continue to serve them well. So, behavioral segmentation is a great tool for marketers to discover things like consumer purchasing habits and overall brand loyalty. 

Depending on the product and type of consumer, target segments will vary. As a marketer, doing your due diligence is the key to ensuring your message meets the right audience.