Marketing demographics: What they are and how to apply them

Sixty-two percent of workers say data helps them make better decisions, underscoring its value in shaping effective strategies.

Among the most valuable data points are marketing demographics. This type of market research enables marketers to refine their approach through targeted messaging, personalized campaigns, and more effective media planning.

Demographic data is central to customer segmentation, enabling businesses to identify and engage distinct groups within their target audience. This level of precision is essential for both targeted advertising and personalized customer experiences.

The impact is clear: in 2024, the average conversion rate for personalized ads was 9.8%, nearly double that of non-targeted ads, which stood at just 5.4%.

Continue reading to discover what marketing demographics are, their various types, and how to utilize them to enhance your business outcomes.

Marketing demographics are statistical characteristics used to identify and understand a target audience for more effective marketing.

Marketing demographics include characteristics such as age, geographic location, education level, occupation, and income that are used to create groups and segment a market. Markets may be segmented in several ways, including demographics, geographics, psychographics, and behaviors. 

Marketing demographics utilize information that’s easily accessible. Segmenting with demographics allows you to narrow and customize your marketing strategy to target potential customers who fit into a specific demographic market.

As part of your marketing strategy, incorporating demographic segmentation can provide several key benefits.

Use your marketing dollars wisely—don’t waste capital advertising to a market that doesn’t need or want your product. Demographic segmentation allows you to target relevant customers who are interested in your products or services. 

For example, a small startup children’s picture book publisher has a limited budget. To ensure a higher return on advertising spend (ROAS) and return on investment (ROI), the owners look at demographics before determining their marketing strategy. 

​​According to Forbes, “81% of customers prefer companies that offer a personalized experience.”

Rather than spending time and money on marketing to a generic audience, use demographic segmentation to create messaging that appeals to the part of your audience most likely to buy your product.

Let’s revisit the small children’s picture book publisher example. The publisher decided to use a portion of its budget to attract children in the 3- to 8-year-old range. The marketing materials use eye-catching pictures, bright colors, and characters from the books.

The larger portion of the budget is allocated to married adults aged 21 to 35 with children. The campaign emphasizes the importance of reading to children in fostering their desire to learn to read.

The two campaigns promote childhood reading; however, they are very different and personalized to each group. 

With demographic segmentation, you can ensure that people seeing your marketing messaging find that your product is relevant to them. 

Back to our book publisher example. Older children, middle-aged adults, and seniors are less likely to shop for picture books, so they are not targeted for messaging.

Personalized marketing resonates on a human level. Companies demonstrate that they understand their customers’ pain points and provide solutions by personalizing marketing. When customers feel valued, they are more likely to become repeat customers and build brand loyalty.

Our small picture book publisher used market research to find out more about their main target market—parents. They found that many parents are concerned about having time to read to their children. 

The company’s marketing department then created a campaign highlighting the importance of reading to your kids, even for just a short time. It even released a free download about “How to Squeeze Reading In,” along with an activity sheet for children.

Teams can make more effective business decisions when equipped with data to support their choices. Demographic insights, in particular, play a key role in shaping messaging strategies, guiding advertising investments, and optimizing website content.

For example, if data indicates that your target audience skews younger, it may be more strategic to prioritize social media marketing over traditional channels. Similarly, understanding your audience's income ranges can inform the development of pricing tiers that align with their purchasing power.

One of the most effective ways to collect demographic data is through market research surveys. They provide businesses with the insights they need to effectively reach their target audiences. Surveys enable businesses to ask targeted questions about age, gender identity, income, education, location, and other relevant details.

There are plenty of methods you can choose from when collecting demographic data, including: 

Surveys are highly customizable, scalable, and allow you to ask exactly what you need to know. For example, you can measure customer satisfaction while simultaneously gathering demographic insights to segment future campaigns. 

Surveys are easy to create online and can be sent via email, SMS, or embedded in your website. People are typically familiar with online surveys since they’ve been around for a long time. This level of comfort aids in getting higher response rates and securing the data you need to make informed decisions. 

SurveyMonkey makes it easy to design, distribute, and analyze demographic surveys. With pre-built templates, advanced question logic, and AI-powered insights, you can quickly collect high-quality data without needing to be a research expert. Plus, SurveyMonkey’s robust reporting tools allow you to filter responses by demographic groups, helping you uncover trends and refine your marketing strategies with confidence.

With demographic segmentation, you divide your target audience into smaller groups based on shared characteristics, such as age, gender, income, and family status. Tailoring your marketing to specific groups ensures your campaigns are highly relevant and impactful.

The first step to using demographic segmentation in marketing is to outline what you want to achieve. Maybe it’s brand awareness, or maybe you’re focused on building customer loyalty. Whatever your goal is, decide on it before starting the process of collecting demographic data.

Next, use surveys, polls, or forms to gather data on your audience. The more accurate the data, the more effective your segmentation will be.

Once you have the demographic data, it’s time to create segments based on shared characteristics. Break your audience into meaningful groups, such as:

Next, create campaigns—like targeted paid ads, personalized email campaigns, and tailored product offerings—based on your marketing demographics.

For example, your marketing campaign for families with young children should emphasize convenience, safety, and value. The campaign might highlight features like time-saving benefits, family bundles, or child-friendly designs.

In contrast, single individuals or couples without children may respond better to messaging that emphasizes lifestyle, flexibility, and personal enjoyment. Campaigns for this group may focus on experiences, aesthetics, or product features that align with a more independent or aspirational lifestyle.

Last, track your campaigns’ performance across different demographic segments to see which audiences are most responsive.

Analyze key metrics such as age, gender, location, and interests to uncover patterns in engagement and conversions. This data allows you to tailor your messaging and creative assets to better resonate with each group.

Continuously refining your strategies based on demographic insights ensures your marketing efforts are both targeted and effective. Ultimately, this leads to stronger connections with your audience.

The most useful demographic characteristics for your marketing strategies are age, gender identity, income, family status, religion/race/nationality, and education. Let’s examine each of these demographics and explore examples of how they can be utilized in marketing.

One of the first demographic traits you’ll likely use is age. This is a critical variable for most markets. Age may be defined in various ways, such as:

Whether you use age range, life stage, or generation to define your target market, you’ll find that each defined demographic has its own values and preferences that can be used to personalize your advertising and marketing for maximum effectiveness.

An example of effective marketing using the age demographic is the Dollar Shave Club (DSC). Their target market consists of men aged 18 to 34. Their marketing, advertising, and social media all rely heavily on humor that appeals to that demographic.

For example, here’s a recent tweet from DSC. 

Using gender demographics for your marketing requires extra attention to detail. If your product does not depend on gender, use other traits to define your marketing plan.

When collecting gender information via a survey, we recommend making the questions optional and adding a section for explanation. For example:

An example of marketing using gender as a variable for targeting would be Free People women’s clothing. Their advertising and marketing target women 18-34 who identify their personal style as bohemian or eclectic. 

A marketing campaign on their social media offers images of celebrities (some in character from popular media) with links to Free People clothing pieces that can be used to recreate the looks.

The Ordinary is a skincare company that offers solutions based on skin concerns rather than gender. The Ordinary website features a very clean, modern look and does not rely on models to demonstrate products. 

Parent company DECIEM, The Abnormal Beauty Company, features employees of all genders using their products in social media posts. 

If you’re using income as a demographic characteristic for your marketing, what you’re really looking for is buying power.

Retail stores, such as Walmart, market to middle- and lower-income people who have limited disposable income. Luxury car retailers target high-income individuals. Some companies have a range of products that appeal to more than one demographic.

An income demographic survey question might look like this:

An example of a company offering tiered options for customers across various income levels is Chevrolet (Chevy). The car company offers compact vehicles for $13,000 to $23,000, trucks starting at $25,000, and high-end performance vehicles for up to $105,000. They also offer a wide range of SUVs, priced from $22,000 to $56,000, along with electric vehicles, commercial trucks, and vans.

The marketing team at Chevrolet uses multiple demographic traits, including income, to appeal to customers with a variety of vehicle needs.

Spending habits vary widely between single people and families. Changes in family units, such as divorce, death, or the birth of a first child, all affect buying habits. Understanding that single people usually prioritize spending on themselves, and couples with children are looking for low-cost bulk purchases, can effectively direct your marketing efforts.

To determine family status on a survey, you may choose to ask some of the following questions. 

From your family status data, you should be able to segment your data into single people, newly married couples, families with children, and empty nesters. Depending on your product or service, you can adjust your marketing endeavors accordingly.

HelloFresh meal kits market their service as a healthy eating option with boxes that feed two or four people. The kits are customizable for special diets and provide recipe cards so the meals can be recreated. 

Family status is used in marketing to couples as a fast and healthy option, and to families as a fast alternative that’s enjoyable for kids.

Segmenting by religion/race/nationality is predominantly used in the food sector. Some examples are kosher food markets and restaurants that sell ingredients from a variety of cultures.

Depending on your particular business, you may use inclusive marketing to draw in customers from a variety of backgrounds. You can also target a very narrow market with specific cultural interests.

Asia Food Market caters to those looking for groceries with Chinese, Japanese, or Korean origins. They sell everything from seafood to baked goods and prepared meals, all of which are Asian favorites. Asia Food Market targets Asian customers who want authentic ingredients.

Segmenting your marketing demographics by education level is based on the assumption that education level is related to a person’s standard of living and lifestyle. Education demographics may ask about the level of education, school, or area of study, depending on the product or service being marketed.

An education demographic on a survey may look like this:

An example of a company utilizing educational demographics is tech companies like Apple, which target high school graduates heading to college.

They recognize that these students will be seeking laptops, so their marketing uses popular music and cultural references that appeal to them. Apple also offers education pricing for faculty, staff, homeschool teachers, college students, and parents.

Marketing demographics are highly useful for targeting your ideal audience. For best results, keep these tips in mind:

Don’t make the mistake of creating campaigns that rely on stereotypes and broad generalizations when targeting specific demographics. This approach is not only ineffective but can also be alienating and offensive to potential customers.

It's crucial to understand that individuals within any demographic group are diverse, with unique needs, preferences, and experiences. Assuming homogeneity can lead to missed opportunities and a negative brand perception.

Ensure that your brand voice remains consistent, even when targeting a specific demographic. Consistency builds trust, reinforces brand identity, and helps create a cohesive customer experience across all touchpoints.

While your messaging may be tailored to resonate with a particular audience, the core tone, values, and personality of your brand should remain consistent.

This ensures long-term brand recognition and prevents confusion or fragmentation in the eyes of your broader audience.

Effective demographic targeting starts with a deep understanding of your audience and aligning relevant variables with your product or service.

For instance, income is a critical factor when marketing luxury goods, while in categories like food, gender may be less impactful than lifestyle, age, or cultural preferences.

It's essential to avoid alienating any group. Marketing should be inclusive, respectful, and mindful to prevent backlash and protect brand reputation.

The ultimate goal is to resonate with your target audience without marginalizing others.

You must continually adapt marketing strategies to evolving demographics. This involves monitoring shifts in age, socioeconomic status, location, culture, and psychographics.

Adapting campaigns, products, and communication based on these insights is crucial for sustained success, as failure to do so risks alienating target markets.

Technology, maturity, and worldwide events can impact segments' opinions and behaviors. As demographic segments evolve, continuous monitoring and optimization are essential. 

Regularly reassess your audience profiles and adjust your campaigns to reflect these changes, ensuring your marketing stays relevant and impactful.

Marketing demographics play a significant role in customer segmentation. Enhance customer loyalty and personalization, increase product relevance, and achieve greater marketing efficiencies with marketing demographics.

Our market research solutions include SurveyMonkey Audience, a fast and easy way to collect demographic information tailored to your needs. With Audience, you’ll receive consistent, high-quality responses. Get started today!