Use psychographics and kick your marketing into overdrive

If you've ever purchased a mailing list, you've employed "filters" like ZIP codes and household income to create a database of qualified prospects. Those filters are important because you don't want to send direct mail to people outside your geographic market or those who cannot afford your business. "Demographics," they're called, and they help to identify socioeconomic groups, characterized by age, income, sex, education, occupation, etc., that comprise a market niche.

But what if you could drill down even further and build a database of people who are most likely to buy from you? What if you could pinpoint, for example, those people who own a second home, or make travel arrangements online, or donate to charities? Fortunately for marketers, this information and much more is available and it's neither hard to obtain, nor expensive.

"Psychographics" tell us the specific personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles of groups of people. By identifying the psychographics of your target audience, you can then determine what motivates them to purchase. Do they read Forbes, or Southern Living? Do they listen to hard rock or country music? Do they own an RV? Are they Republican or Democrat?"

Contrast psychographics with demographics and you'll be able to create a narrow list of your most likely customers. You'll save money on printing and postage and your marketing will be relevant to the people you're trying to reach, so you can also expect a higher response rate.