The Importance of Segmenting Your Target Audience According to Lifestyle

There are many ways to segment your target audience. Age and income level are just a few of those ways. Segmenting your target audience helps to address the needs and wants of specific individuals and increases the chances that your marketing efforts will be successful.

When you recognize the differences between particular audiences, you can better pinpoint your marketing message so that it appeals to the customers and prospects most likely to be interested in your products or service. Segmenting your target audience also helps you to stand out from competitors that rely on a more generic marketing message.

Generally speaking, segmenting your target audience usually falls into rather predictable patterns such as the ones listed above. If you really want to be successful in reaching qualified leads or you have a niche product or service that will appeal to a very specific audience, you might want to consider lifestyle segmentation.

Lifestyle segmentation breaks down information about potential customers into small subsets. Once you identify these consumers by lifestyle you are more likely to convert them into customers because you are offering something that appeals specifically to them. Another bonus of lifestyle segmentation is that once these individuals make a purchase they are very likely to become loyal customers.

While it can be difficult to segment prospects by lifestyle because of the wide range of options, there are four key aspects to consider:

1. Behavioral. Under what circumstances are your prospects likely to purchase a particular product?
2. Demographic. What is the age, gender, marital status and race of your prospects?
3. Geographic. Where will your potential customers likely buy or use your products?
4. Psychographic. How are these prospects unique in terms of personal preferences and lifestyle choices?

When it comes to lifestyle segmentation it is important to remember that this type of segmentation is more fluid than traditional segments. However, once a prospect has converted into a buyer, you should be able to take advantage of the long-term revenue and profits that the buyer represents.

You also should remember that the more your solutions enhance the quality of the life of a customer who was segmented by lifestyle, the more likely it will be that you can up- or cross-sell to that customer. These customers also are exceptionally likely to refer you to friends and family.