Consumer profile: How to use it in your marketing strategy?
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2024 8:20 am
Knowing the consumer profile of a product or service in detail is essential to defining an appropriate marketing strategy. Essential questions such as “Who is my target audience?” cannot be answered based on assumptions without first knowing who buys the category and the brand (and who doesn’t buy them). That’s why studying the consumer profile and its evolution over time is one of the most common research briefings we receive at We are testers. Today we tell you how to accurately quantify the consumer profile to help you define a marketing plan that will lead your brand to success.
What is the consumer profile?
The consumer profile is a detailed description of the characteristics, behaviors, needs and preferences of consumers of a category or brand of products and services.
It should be noted that we generally speak of "consumer profile", but sometimes we have different profiles depending on the category and brand of study:
Consumer profile: if we are strict, the consumer is the person who consumes a product, that is, the one who uses it.
Buyer profile: describes the person who makes the purchase, who is not necessarily the person who consumes the product or service. For example, an adult may buy a brand of snacks at the supermarket for his children, while he buys a different product for himself.
Customer profile: This is usually associated with products or services in which the seller has a direct relationship with the buyers or users. For example, in the case of a direct car insurance company or in the case of a coffee capsule brand that sells directly over the Internet. In both cases, we are talking about direct customers of the brand.
Sometimes these terms are interchangeable, as consumer, buyer or customer can be the same person. When they are not, most research experts are very precise in their use of language, as the ways of finding out the profile of each one can be very different.
It should also be noted that by consumer profile we mean a precise quantification of each of the possible characteristics that the consumer may have. For example, finding out how many consumers there are in each age range is part of the consumer profile. And we will be interested in seeing this data in absolute terms (e.g., 25% of the brand's consumers are over 55 years old) and relative to the population or consumption of the category (e.g., despite the fact that those over 55 years old are responsible for 40% of the purchases in the category, they only account for 25% of the brand's purchases. Therefore, the brand is not as attractive to those over 55 years old as the rest of the options in the category).
Market research and consumer profiles
The most common way to find out the consumer profile is to launch online market studies that allow for a precise quantification of each variable. Having a consumer panel allows access to a sample of which a good part of its characteristics are already known.
Components of the consumer profile
Understanding consumers well involves assessing different aspects of their profile. Here is a list of the most common topics that you can include through specific questions in your study.
Demographic profile
The demographic profile describes the characteristics gambling data japan phone number of households and the individuals living in them. Some sociodemographic data relate to the household and generally affect the set of individuals living in it. Others are specific to each individual.
Some common household demographics include:
Age of the person responsible for household supplies.
Household size. The number of people living together in the household.
Presence of children. Generally includes age ranges of children (young, older, etc.)
Region. In the South, in the Mediterranean area…
Habitat size. From small municipalities to large metropolitan areas.
Socioeconomic class. This is a composite variable that generally combines other variables such as educational level, activity status, occupation and income level.
Household life cycle. It is also composed of other variables such as household size, presence of children and age of the person responsible for supplying the home.
There are other demographic data that are specific to each individual, such as:
Age.
Gender.
Generation membership. When consumers are part of Generation Z, Millennials or other similar generation groups.
If you are thinking of doing a study on a consumer panel, you will not have to worry about any of these variables, since they will be collected in advance.
Home or individual equipment profile
Sometimes it is important to know whether the household has certain equipment. For example, in the example above of coffee capsules, the brand may be interested in knowing whether the household has an electric coffee maker and what type. Depending on the sector, other brands may find it useful to know whether they have a fridge or a fridge-freezer, or if they have a freezer chest. Others may be interested in knowing whether the individual only has a mobile phone or also has a computer or tablet. Or how many cars are available in the household and from what segment or brand.
Attitudinal profile
The choice of products or brands depends not only on our demographic characteristics and our equipment, but also on our needs, values, beliefs, tastes and interests. For example, people may have different degrees of interest in reducing packaging consumption. Or they may have a greater or lesser taste for ethnic food. Or when buying their next car, they may consider safety attributes more or less.
What is the consumer profile?
The consumer profile is a detailed description of the characteristics, behaviors, needs and preferences of consumers of a category or brand of products and services.
It should be noted that we generally speak of "consumer profile", but sometimes we have different profiles depending on the category and brand of study:
Consumer profile: if we are strict, the consumer is the person who consumes a product, that is, the one who uses it.
Buyer profile: describes the person who makes the purchase, who is not necessarily the person who consumes the product or service. For example, an adult may buy a brand of snacks at the supermarket for his children, while he buys a different product for himself.
Customer profile: This is usually associated with products or services in which the seller has a direct relationship with the buyers or users. For example, in the case of a direct car insurance company or in the case of a coffee capsule brand that sells directly over the Internet. In both cases, we are talking about direct customers of the brand.
Sometimes these terms are interchangeable, as consumer, buyer or customer can be the same person. When they are not, most research experts are very precise in their use of language, as the ways of finding out the profile of each one can be very different.
It should also be noted that by consumer profile we mean a precise quantification of each of the possible characteristics that the consumer may have. For example, finding out how many consumers there are in each age range is part of the consumer profile. And we will be interested in seeing this data in absolute terms (e.g., 25% of the brand's consumers are over 55 years old) and relative to the population or consumption of the category (e.g., despite the fact that those over 55 years old are responsible for 40% of the purchases in the category, they only account for 25% of the brand's purchases. Therefore, the brand is not as attractive to those over 55 years old as the rest of the options in the category).
Market research and consumer profiles
The most common way to find out the consumer profile is to launch online market studies that allow for a precise quantification of each variable. Having a consumer panel allows access to a sample of which a good part of its characteristics are already known.
Components of the consumer profile
Understanding consumers well involves assessing different aspects of their profile. Here is a list of the most common topics that you can include through specific questions in your study.
Demographic profile
The demographic profile describes the characteristics gambling data japan phone number of households and the individuals living in them. Some sociodemographic data relate to the household and generally affect the set of individuals living in it. Others are specific to each individual.
Some common household demographics include:
Age of the person responsible for household supplies.
Household size. The number of people living together in the household.
Presence of children. Generally includes age ranges of children (young, older, etc.)
Region. In the South, in the Mediterranean area…
Habitat size. From small municipalities to large metropolitan areas.
Socioeconomic class. This is a composite variable that generally combines other variables such as educational level, activity status, occupation and income level.
Household life cycle. It is also composed of other variables such as household size, presence of children and age of the person responsible for supplying the home.
There are other demographic data that are specific to each individual, such as:
Age.
Gender.
Generation membership. When consumers are part of Generation Z, Millennials or other similar generation groups.
If you are thinking of doing a study on a consumer panel, you will not have to worry about any of these variables, since they will be collected in advance.
Home or individual equipment profile
Sometimes it is important to know whether the household has certain equipment. For example, in the example above of coffee capsules, the brand may be interested in knowing whether the household has an electric coffee maker and what type. Depending on the sector, other brands may find it useful to know whether they have a fridge or a fridge-freezer, or if they have a freezer chest. Others may be interested in knowing whether the individual only has a mobile phone or also has a computer or tablet. Or how many cars are available in the household and from what segment or brand.
Attitudinal profile
The choice of products or brands depends not only on our demographic characteristics and our equipment, but also on our needs, values, beliefs, tastes and interests. For example, people may have different degrees of interest in reducing packaging consumption. Or they may have a greater or lesser taste for ethnic food. Or when buying their next car, they may consider safety attributes more or less.