How to Get Demographic Data for Marketing

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Do you want to know how to get demographic data on your target market? With the right data you will minimize marketing trial and error by gathering vital information about your ideal customer to guide you in the right marketing strategy.

As stated in our article on the importance of demographics :

“The homeschooling market has changed drastically over the last year, and since the demographics of that market are looking different, you should be making that change in your website copy, advertising, and product development. Even if your business hasn’t changed and the way you deliver your products and services hasn’t changed, the people who are interested in what you have to offer have certainly changed. You need to be aware of the up-to-date demographics in order to deliver a message that fits their lifestyle.”

Getting demographic data is important, but it’s not one of the easier business activities. However, there are several ways to get this information, and you can use multiple methods to really get to know who your customer is.

How to Get Demographic Data Online and Offline

These are the primary means of collecting demographic data through digital media.

Browser Cookies

Browser cookies have become a controversial topic among the online security community in recent years. You’ve probably all received a notice from a website informing you that cookies are being collected and had to agree to their terms. This is because cookies collect and store your personal information, making them an excellent source of demographic data. If you install cookies on your website, you may be able to easily access demographic information about your website visitors.

Digital Apps and Online Platforms

You can use third-party demographic marketing services to gather demographic information about your target audience from digital applications and online platforms. The data collected by these services can provide you with a detailed understanding of the demographics you should be targeting with your marketing efforts.

Here are two traditional methods you can turn to as well:

Public Records

Most developed countries, including the U.S., regularly collect demographic data. You can access this data through public records, such as those from the U.S. Census. While there is lots of demographic data to collect from census reports, it may be hard to determine where your target market is in all that data.

Private Surveys

Surveys are the most accurate way to begin collecting demographic data. Survey data can provide a lot of useful information about demographics. If your company needs to send out surveys for any reason, you can also include questions about each respondent’s age, gender, income, and other demographics. By placing these questions at the end of the survey, you can encourage respondents to complete the survey and feel more comfortable providing potentially sensitive information.

The Old Schoolhouse® Homeschool Market Survey Report was recently released which details the buying preferences and demographic makeup of homeschooling families in 2021. The information in this report allows companies to effectively reach homeschooling families in the wake of the tremendous change in homeschooling demographics.

Go to our Market Tools section to download the brochure and discover all that is included in this survey report.

When you know how to get demographic data and apply it to your branding and advertising, you will have a greater impact with your marketing campaigns, email engagement, and social media activity. You’ll have a better understanding of how to gain the attention of your audience and how to get them to take the steps toward a purchase.