Misunderstanding target user is the number one reason for product failure. To avoid this you should understand your audience really well.
Psychographics helps you understand your users based on their aspirations, interests and attitudes.
What is psychographics?
Psychographics is a methodology of studying users based on their attitudes, interests, aspirations, values and opinions.
Demographic segmentation helps you explain customer information like age, gender, income and location. But this will not give you any insights into what motivates your users to use your product. To understand the cognitive factors involved in your customer decisions you need psychographics. Demographics help us understand who uses our product and psychographics tells us why.
Psychographics also can be used to represent what we call “culture” around a product or service.
Demographics vs psychographics
How to understand your users using psychographics?
To identify motivations and emotions of your users Psychographics use AIO variables – activities, interests and opinions.
Activities : Activities indicate what your users do, what they buy and how they spend their time. Eg. Work, hobbies, Social Events, vacation, entertainment, shopping, sports.
Interests : Interest focus on what the consumer preference and priorities are. Eg. family, recreation, fashion, media.
Opinion : Opinion deals with users views and feelings on world, local, economic and social affairs.
Here is a list of psychographic factors you can use to segment your customers with.
- Goals
- Values
- Dreams
- Hobbies
- Daily activities
- Favorite social media
- Beliefs
- Challenges
- Fears
- Lifestyle choices
How to collect psychographic data?
It is easier to get demographic or transaction data of your users. You can easily find demographic information in Google analytics and address, name etc. in transaction details. But it is challenging to collect psychographic data from product perspective. Here are few places that you can look for psychographic data.
1. Product Feedback surveys
Quantitative data tells you what, where and how much and qualitative tells you ‘why’. The real trick to success here is to ask the right questions. Also make sure when you are asking for feedback you place it at the right position of your user journey. After giving your user something of value through the use of your product, is the ideal time to ask for feedback.
2. Customer tickets
You can gather psychographic information by looking at customer service tickets or product reviews.
3. Product Analytics
You can use a psychographic lens to analyse the analytics data you currently have and gain some insights. Use below questions to analyse your user data
- Look at what moved people to click or buy in the past?
- On which content do they spend the most time?
- Which calls-to-action convert better than others?
- Where does the majority of your website traffic come from?
- Where do people go after leaving your site?
4. Market research companies
There are market research companies that collect psychographics data for different verticals. Companies that have already conducted research in your chosen vertical might provide you with the data you need.
Conclusion
Deep understanding of your user is the key to a successful product. Psychographics helps you build that understanding and you can build a product you know your users will love.
Have you done any psychographic research yet? What was your experience?