Understanding your audience demographics is important. Their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, education, work conditions, family status (and size), location, income, health or disabilities, etc. Some are more relevant than others depending on the industry, type of business, and products.
But real impact comes from having as much clarity as possible about their psychographics. Their personality, worldviews, values, beliefs, perceptions, opinions, desires, challenges, fears, motivations, and so on.
Making assertions about psychographics early on when starting a business or creative project is difficult. People are complex and often contradictory. What they say rarely matches perfectly with what they do. And our own assumptions and biases can cloud our judgment.
Yet this understanding is essential. Demographics might tell us where to find our audience, but psychographics tell us how to create value for them. How to speak their language. How to address their real challenges, not just the surface-level ones.
This is especially true when building conscious brands. We’re not just selling products – we’re aligning with values, supporting belief systems, and often, asking for behavioral change.
Psychographics aren’t static. As our audience engages with our brand, they evolve. Their awareness expands. Their values deepen. Their motivations shift. What started as health concerns might evolve into environmental consciousness. What began as personal choice might grow into advocacy.
Our job is to understand this evolution and grow with them. To keep learning, listening, interacting, iterating and adapting our offerings to match their journey.