GATE Exam

Gareth Schweitzer
http://www.Omnibus.com



Demographics: A Key to Effective Market Research
Every company, brand and sector is affected by public
opinion. But it is the opinion of your target audience that
reveals key truths about how to run your business. That's
why demographics are such an important part of marketing
research. Not only do demographics encompass the study of
human populations, they represent the impact that these
populations have on the market. Companies seeking direct
consumer feedback often utilize common demographics in
their economic and marketing research. Identifying and
prioritizing relevant demographics can enable you to
maximize your research initiatives and radically improve
your business.

Demographic profiles can provide an excellent means of
discerning which aspect of the population would be a likely
target for a particular product or service. Moreover, they
can provide a clear view of how key brands are perceived by
consumers in terms of advantages and disadvantages. In
addition to creating competition, demographic profiling can
reveal strategic insights into why consumers prefer one
brand to another within a given sector. Ultimately, these
insights can be used to increase sales for the company
sponsoring the research.

Any number of variables can be applied to a demographic
profile. Common demographics include age, gender, income,
education, mobility, environment, and technological savvy.
Each of these demographics can be broken down into a
potentially limitless range of subcategories pending the
level of specificity required by the research at hand.
Regardless of how many demographics are being measured, the
goal should always be the same: to better discern your
target. Demographics can potentially reveal not only who
your consumers are, but what makes them tick. Since
demographics - like trends - tend to change over time, it
is recommended to conduct demographics-based research on a
regular or semi-regular basis.

All marketing research services should be subjected to
rigorous analysis in order to evaluate what is working and
what is not. This applies to demographics as much as any
other component of market research. When creating a
demographic profile, it is important to target groups from
the outset that are most likely to be attracted to the
product or service in question. One of the most effective
methods of identifying a particular group is a survey,
which can take the form of either a custom or omnibus
(shared) poll submitted to a cross-section of a given
population. Once the survey has been conducted and the
market audience discerned, marketing efforts can be focused
in an even more efficient and timely manner.

That demographics constitute an integral aspect of
marketing research is clear. Identifying and prioritizing
key demographics, however, is what takes marketing research
to the next level. In addition to yielding crucial insights
into how your company, products or services are perceived
by your target audience, the right demographics will enable
you to better serve your existing consumer base and
maximize future growth. Partnering with a market research
agency that will truly understand your business is
imperative. A credible agency will customize research to
meet your company's needs - often by identifying and
emphasizing the needs of your target audience.


----------------------------------------------------
Gareth Schweitzer is the Founding Partner of Kelton
Research
(http://www.keltonresearch.com/marketing-research/about/).
Kelton Research is a full service marketing research
services company with offices in Los Angeles and New York,
and is America's fastest growing market research agency.