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What are Demographics

Demographics (noun): statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it.

Every company needs to have customers. Finding those customers is key to the success of your market research, and in turn, your business.

Commonly referred to as your marketing demographic or your market, the profile of individuals that will buy your product is who your company is about.

You must understand their needs, purchasing habits, and motivations to buy one product over another in order to fully engage your company with your demographic.

Where to get Demographic Information

The US Census provides the best starting place to get demographic information. You can find the US Census information here in many forms.

The American Fact Finder and Data Ferrett tools will allow you to query or review census data. These are typically more data-dense results than you will find on the census site, but allow for custom queries which can be powerful in addressing your specific needs.

Completing Your Demographic Research

Once you have gathered the necessary data, you will have to analyze it to produce a few key results:

1. Develop a Customer Persona that characterizes the generic person most likely to purchase your product. Characteristics include but are not limited to:
   • Education Level
   • Annual Income
   • Type of Residence
   • Number of Children
2. Locate where a sufficient population of individuals matching your demographic live, work, and consume products or services like those you intend to sell
3. Update your Strategic Marketing Plan as required by the changes in this Persona and where they are located
4. Repeat this process as you refine your offering and the means by which you will deliver it