In the past, large data sets about consumers were far more difficult to come by. For small businesses and agencies, this meant being at a significant disadvantage to larger businesses and corporations that could afford to conduct large-scale research.
Today, however, this is far from the case and consumer data is more available than it ever has been before. This has evened the playing field as smaller businesses now have a chance to understand their demographics just as much as their larger competition. Gaining perspective on the importance of data when trying to comprehend demographics can give one deeper insight into how marketing teams function.
Here is the role of data in understanding demographics for effective marketing.
Data is Key to Determining Target Audiences
While many outside of the marketing field may find this surprising, data actually plays a crucial role in determining who target audiences are. Put simply, target audiences are the specific group of people that a marketing campaign will aim to communicate with and persuade. This can include people from a certain region, people of a certain age, or combinations of various attributes.
The reason some might find the use of data in this process surprising is the fact that target audiences may seem obvious. For example, a surfboard company may assume that the majority of people buying their surfboards are in their twenties. However, the truth is that these surface assumptions are often false and only data can truly elucidate the validity of these claims.
To further explore the aforementioned example, imagine if the surfboard company conducted market research to see who bought the most surfboards. They may find that people aged between 40 and 50 were their actual target market. As one can imagine, crafting a campaign for the wrong target market can waste a significant amount of a company’s time, effort, and money. As such, data plays an incredibly important role in helping marketing professionals determine target markets.
Utilizing data this way is especially useful in cases in which marketing teams are attempting to communicate to a diverse range of people with diverse advertising. Without doing adequate research, campaigns may inadvertently alienate some sets of consumers, making them less effective. This further highlights the value that data holds when it comes to identifying target audiences and crafting a potent marketing campaign that succeeds.
Data is Key to Understanding Consumers
While companies can look at their sales and make decisions based solely on that information, this process can lead to them missing key contexts around their sales. For example, a shoe company may make a pair of pink sneakers that sell extremely well. Instead of researching the context, imagine they start producing masses of pink merchandise only to find that it doesn’t sell.
Researching the subject could have illuminated the fact that a certain celebrity wore pink sneakers to an event which sparked a short-lived fad in which pink sneakers were popular. This could’ve helped the sneaker company avoid losing a significant amount of money by allowing them to better understand their consumers.
When it comes to marketing a product, understanding consumers is key to rolling out an effective campaign. This being the case, marketers must use data to gain deeper insights into what consumers respond to. With this knowledge, marketers are then able to craft compelling campaigns that interest consumers and persuade them to purchase a certain product or service.
Utilizing this information is especially useful when crafting creative pitches in marketing or advertising, as this information is key to understanding whether the creative idea will work.
Data is Key to Predicting Trends and Crafting Long-Term Marketing Strategies
As any veteran marketer knows, trends and consumer preferences are always evolving. While it would be easier for marketers to create long-term strategies if consumer preferences were static, the simple truth is that this is never the case. Given this fact, marketers rely heavily on data to find patterns that better enable them to craft long-term marketing strategies that stay effective and robust over long periods of time.
For example, imagine that marketers look to consumer data and find a growing consumer interest in products that are eco-friendly. As a result, marketers can use this insight to craft a long-term campaign that increasingly addresses this desire. Ultimately, this would allow marketing teams to craft a campaign that lasts over a long period of time even though consumer preferences change.
Without utilizing data, marketing teams would simply have to guess about the ways consumer preferences will evolve. The amount of money and time these guesses would take is substantial, making this a horrible system. As such, marketing teams rely heavily on data to ensure that they aren’t unaware of the trajectory of changing consumers and changing consumer preferences.
Data Makes Effective Marketing Possible
Without the use of reliable data, marketing teams would be left having to make huge gambles whenever they craft campaigns. Thankfully, they have access to data about consumers that allows them to discover vital insights that inform their campaigns. As time goes on, data will continue to play an incredibly important role in marketing as it allows marketing professionals a chance to understand the consumers they’re targeting and communicate with them effectively.