Psychographic Research - How It Can Improve Loyalty Rates
Psychographic research and advertising is based on how the mind of the consumer works. Psychographic research attempts to diagnose characteristics of consumers that can affect their response to various products, services, advertising, marketing and promotional messages. Yet, unlike usual focus group research it has the objective of gathering insights about the values, beliefs, attitudes and motivations of different consumer groups, largely based on the unconscious drivers that determine their behavioural responses. Psychographic research can identify similar values, attitude, lifestyle or personality traits within what seem to be independent demographic groups.
From an advertising perspective the two most useful variables used in psychographic segmentation are the values and beliefs of the audience. Values are measured in order to appreciate which communications are most likely to engage, persuade and motivate a given audience, whereas a detailed understanding of their beliefs enables the advertising professional to choose which objections to handle in order to prompt purchase. This valuable information is increasingly being used to measure, develop and predict the effect of advertising communication. So the modern advertising professional will omit the value of psychographic research at their peril as it is a vital step towards understanding why consumers behave the way that they do.
Traditional Market Research
Many traditional research companies are prudent in their use of psychographic techniques for marketing and advertising research, primarily because it is so complicated to elicit, quantify and apply to advertising and marketing applications. Yet there are a growing number of research agencies who specialise in this type of applied research or to use the latest buzzword - research for marketing.
Psychographic Research
Psychographics should not be blurred with demographics. Psychographics is a more sophisticated form of demographics that includes soft knowledge information about the psychological and sociological characteristics of the audience. We have already suggested that it can reveal the values, beliefs, attitudes and motivations of an audience but it can also, if conducted properly elicit emotional responses, psychometric preferences and ideological beliefs. In the growing need for advertising effectiveness, these psychographic insights are every bit as important as the more regular demographic factors, if not more so.
This is not a new field of study as psychographic research has been used for market segmentation for decades and is increasingly relied upon heavily by the advertising world. Specifically because of its effectiveness in helping to increase communication ROI by examining values, beliefs and motivations. Psychographics are designed return on investment or ROI. However its real benefit is in the way it can quantify the consumer’s predisposition to buy a product, the influences that stimulate buying behaviour and the relationship between the consumer’s perception of the product benefits and his/her lifestyle, interests and opinions. This is why psychographicsare increasingly used to direct the customer’s journey and their association with the brand.
Improve response rates with psychographic research
Whilst the market research industry has no distinct definition for psychographics, it may help a business distinguish more about their customer’s attitudes and beliefs and more importantly provide the intelligence to help communicate with them more effectively. If you want to sell more goods in an increasingly competitive marketplace, don’t neglect the value of psychographic research.
More detail on psychographics are featured in a free booklet on available to all marketing professionals who wish to improve their response rates. Courtesy of espconsultancy.com the specialists.
