I just read a fascinating study on The End of Demographics: How Marketers Are Going Deeper With Personal Data by Jamie Beckland. I was so glad to hear how psychographics are advancing because when I was studying for my degree in marketing, it was difficult to find tools to measure psychographics. Additionally, the author makes a great point that psychographics tell marketers much more relevant information that demographics. First we leverage social profile data. This now allows us to answer questions such as:
- Are customers who kayak more likely to buy water shoes than those who canoe?
- Who is more likely to spend over $100 on an order: Seattle Seahawks fans or Seattle Mariners fans?
- Are your customers more likely to purchase when they move across the state or across the country?
Uncovering the answers to these questions use to be impossible. Now it is standard.
Next is behavioral data. The trend that is being forecasted blows my mind. Yes, we have all heard of remarketing and how it similar to having ads follow you. Now, the ads will follow you, but they will tell a story as they measure your changes in the buying cycle. This is brilliant!
Then comes Customer Lifecyle Data. Being able to piece together when a person starts buying new things and figure out the person is entering/leaving a buying cycle is tremendous. I am liking the future of marketing. Great things are to come.
