What Are Demographics and Psychographics? | Sales & Marketing > Market Research

What Are Demographics and Psychographics? | Sales & Marketing > Market Research: "What Are Demographics and Psychographics?

What are demographics and how do I investigate them?


Demographics are the average or typical characteristics of the people who buy your products or services. They include age, income, education, status or type of occupation, region of country and household size. Demographics can also include the age of children, home ownership, home value and urban or rural location.

Psychographics take this a step further: These include people's lifestyles and behaviors — where they like to vacation, the kinds of interests they have, the values they hold and how they behave.

To find out this information you need to conduct market research — survey people who have bought your products or those who buy a similar one if you haven't yet launched yours.

You need to know both demographics and psychographics in order to advertise and sell effectively. You'll need to match the audience's characteristics of the media you use with the characteristics of your purchasers. That way you won't waste precious dollars when starting your business."