October 16, 2013
Marketers LOVE “big” words! You may find them throw words like demographics and segmentation around but without any real purpose. Understanding your customer demographic and being able to segment your audience is the foundation of marketing and is key to marketing success. So, in this case, these “big” words should not be thrown around “willy-nilly”, it requires time and resource to ensure that your business isn’t throwing money at the wrong people.
Segmenting your target marketing by generation comes after identifying your key demographic but it can help you understand their behaviours. Traditional generations X, Y and Z have been determined by age but I have come across Google’s explanation of generation C.
“Gen C is a powerful new force in consumer culture. It’s a term we use to describe people who care deeply about creation, curation, connection and community. It’s not an age group; it’s an attitude and mindset defined by key characteristics. Eighty per cent of Gen C is made up of millennials, YouTube’s core (though by no means only) audience.”
Infographic Courtesy of: Google
This change of attitude has got me thinking. Should we be segmenting by behaviour instead of demographics and hard figures? There is no denying it, if you could get all the information that the infographic above shows about your potential customers, then your marketing would be much more effective. It is really more a question of how do you go about getting this information? Personally I think the answer lies in social listening. Using the right tools can open the doors to a whole range of information that was once not as easily accessible.