Summary

From news stories to social media ads, general statistical indicators such as age, race, gender, and income still provide the basis for evaluating others––whether consciously or unconsciously. Why, when we can do so much better?

Erica and India lead by example, offering a primer on how to replace those quantitative, often reductive, demographics with psychographics, a more insightful, qualitative way of understanding folks by honoring their values, interests, lifestyle choices, and opinions. 

In this discussion:

• An introduction to demographics vs psychographics

• Acknowledging the role demographics plays in clarifying our own biases

• How traditional media, social media, and marketing have all contributed to the heavy reliance on demographics over psychographics

• Embodying our roles as “influencers” to promote broader use of psychographics

• How the evolving nature of an individual’s values is more accurately reflected in psychographic data

• Integrating psychographic awareness into personal and professional relationships

Keep The Dialogue Going

Ready to level up your understanding and use of psychographics? Join Erica Courdae and India Jackson for one of their final masterclasses of the year! From Implicit to Explicit: Leading Through Your Values is a small-group virtual event that supports entrepreneurs and leaders as they explore, identify, and integrate values throughout their brand or business. Details at pauseontheplay.com/events. 

Need guidance but can’t attend either of the masterclass sessions? Book a private session with the team. Details at https://pauseontheplay.as.me/explicit.

Article

Grab a cup of coffee or tea. Erica and India return to offer their expert insights on psychographics versus demographics, a topic that informs more than just which box someone checks on a survey.  Not sure what the differences are between the two? Don’t know when or why we use this data? Don’t worry; this primer not only outlines the basics but also reveals how these concepts have the potential to simplify or broaden our understanding of each other.

Real-World Demographics, Psychographics, and Bias

We integrate our preference for psychographics over demographics into everything we do at Pause On The Play and Flaunt Your Fire. “I think anybody can have a concept or theme or words around, ‘Oh, this is what I do,’” Erica says, “but I think the particular way that you do it is really what makes it different. And so, if we are discussing demographics, psychographics, you know, basing things in your values, it really is helpful to be able to understand what does that mean when we reference it?”

What does it mean to utilize the concept as the basis for the work we do? The decisions that we make? The relationships that we foster? The partnerships that we choose? The list pretty much includes everything we engage with and in.

“I think one of the first things to acknowledge is what even is a demographic, you know?” India asks, adding, “I think that that word is thrown around so much, especially in the business world when you start looking at marketing. But even if we were to take a step outside of that and look at social justice and how things are talked about that are happening in the media, and the systems and structures that are in place, the inequities that are in place, most of the things that you're reading and consuming will talk about a demographic: Black male, age 25, wearing a hoodie. And it's like, I think as a culture, we look at demographics, and we forget psychographics.”

“A hundred per cent,” Erica agrees. “I think that people lead with that because it’s an easy way to explain what you want someone else to understand.” In some people’s minds, she cautions that demographics are a way to add context to a story or event––oversimplifying the details. If you’re someone who hasn’t been reduced to demographics or heard the term used in such a way,  “You're very fortunate,” Erica says. “Demographics are typically things like age, race and ethnicity, gender, marital status, income, education, and employment. And, very often, people utilize these as a way to quantify people, to be able to acknowledge, ‘Oh, this was a married white man who has two children,” and you're like, all of a sudden, that's supposed to rain all of this clarity on who they are. And it's like, no, it didn't. It shouldn't. It absolutely should not.” 

“Does it, though?” India counters. “For some people, we don't realize it, but it does because it brings out clarity from our own biases of what that means. So, if you have a picture in your head of what a white married male with two children looks like, then that's the clarity that you're going to get.” Of course, those details might not have anything to do with the character of the white male in question. 

“Just because your own biases say this is what [these details] are quantified to mean, that doesn't mean that it's true; that doesn't mean that it's based in facts,” Erica says.  “Demographics really just cue you into the way that you quantify these indicators versus whether or not these indicators actually quantify anything about the person or situation that you are attaching them to.”

“Absolutely,” says India. “When we are thinking in terms of demographics, this looks like acknowledging somebody's age range, their race or ethnicity, or their gender, their marital status, their income, their education, their employment, whether or not they're a business owner. These are the things that -- they matter. But they don't tell you who someone is inside. They don't tell you what their values are or anything else.” In India’s experience, “the marketing world and social media age has caused us to look at demographics maybe even more than we would have in the past because ads are built for so long on demographics. And I'm here to tell you there's another way to do it. You don't have to run ads based on demographics!”

Self-Identifying and Influencing

Traditional and digital news media outlets continue to contribute to the reductive reliance on demographics. “When you're listening to the news, when you're reading a New York Times article or whatever as your method of taking things in,” India points out, “many times it is quantifying parts of the story based on someone's demographics.”

Self-abridging our defining qualities begins early. Both Erica and India remember logging into chat rooms and AIM, respectively, with abbreviated versions of themselves using the required ASL deets: age, sex, location. “That was the norm for a while,” India explains. 

“The interesting thing is, I'm hearing this, and I'm like there's no psychographic anywhere near any of this!” Erica says. “It was all based on stuff that didn't matter.” And not always based on truth.

“Exactly!” India agrees. “Number one, were you even telling the truth about your age, sex, or location?! Number two, what does that tell you about me if I were to answer that for you? Nothing. You don't know whether or not I'm an aligned fit to become friends with, to invite to your podcast, to work with, to potentially be a client of yours––”

“To rep their product if they're looking for you to be an influencer,” Erica adds. 

“Right!” India says. “I think it's just so important to begin to decide as a culture to shift away from demographics and into psychographics. And I say as a culture, but I want to remind you that you, as one person, can begin to change the culture in your house and your family, in your business and your workplace.”

Let’s acknowledge that the term “influencer” is everywhere and is often attached to a specific image––a model, a spokesperson with thousands of followers. “But an influencer is simply someone that has influence over people, situations, or context around them,” Erica says. “You are an influencer in your own space on a daily basis, whether it be at home, whether it be at work, whether it be when you go into the grocery store, and you say, ‘Hey, can you bring more of this in here?’” That’s influence on a local or immediate level, and it’s often minimized. “Influence is where you seek it and where you choose to actually initiate the power that you have in that space.”

India urges folks to completely honor the fact that they have this access and this power. “Own it and do something with it!” she says. “Do something with it that you can look back on and be proud of!”

Applied Psychographics

“Psychographics are more of a qualitative way of describing humans,” India says, pointing out some of the psychological attributes that this type of data focuses on: individual personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyle choices. “I think that all of these things can be combined to give you a better scope of who someone really is beyond the things that they were probably born with.” 

“This goes so much more into who and how they are than, you know, these things that are really just kind of societal indicator-based,” Erica says, adding, “Psychographics are something that does give you more insight into a person, but it's also something that is going to shift and evolve.” In that way, psychographics are more in tune with our growth as humans. “If you think about interests and lifestyles and values and opinions, these are not static concepts, which is why it's so important to understand that they are fluid. It's not a demographic in which, okay, if you're 28 today, in two years, you're going to be 30.” Psychographics don’t have that strict, mathematical trajectory. Psychographics are movable; they're malleable. 

“I appreciate you saying that because I think that humans are always evolving. Humans are malleable; they're movable,” agrees India. “I think that when you're looking at psychographics, instead of demographics, it also is coming from that same energy of people can change their mind about who they want to be tomorrow and giving them the grace to do that.” 

“You are providing that grace and that ability to evolve to someone else in the same way that you would want that provided for you because all of us have shifted and changed over time,” Erica says. “And, we do want to be recognized for who we are right now and not who we used to be.”  If that's what you want to receive, Erica reminds folks to give that grace and acknowledgement in return. “Being able to do that, I think, really does shift the way that you connect with and engage and choose to be in relationship with someone, whether it's in a personal or professional context.”

“The keyword there is relationship,” India reiterates. “Most of the time that we are looking to quantify people for the sake of this podcast, or to describe them, or to attract them or to meet them is because we want to build a relationship with them.” That relationship can be expressed in many ways, from joining a mailing list to purchasing services directly. The critical thing to remember is that the people engaged with a brand or business aren’t fantasy humans. 

“They're real humans behind that, and that conversation can be a two-way conversation,” India says. “But, in order to get there and to have that, and to know that they're aligned, you have to take a look at what their personality is. You have to take a look at what their values, opinions, attitudes, interests are. And, you're able to really adjust your mindset to start thinking about these psychographics.” Then, you must integrate this new way of thinking about humans into everything that your brand or business says, does, and offers. 

That’s not to say that demographic data, although an older and more old-fashioned way of categorizing folks, doesn’t have its place. “But,” as Erica points out, “they have their areas that they don't really belong as much. Talking about psychographics and really leading with who and how that individual is, the important thing here that I want to make sure is taken away is that these are concepts that are valuable to truly grasp because they show up in every aspect of life––again, that intersection of personal and professional. These thought processes that we're addressing are important in ways that you don't even recognize because some of it is probably automatic. It's so necessary to really understand that this is going to be the basis of the way that decisions are made consciously or unconsciously.”

Now is an incredible time for folks to begin shifting their mindset into thinking about psychographics. As India says, “You'll find yourself doing some things that are just not the norm in how others around you may be doing it.” Those divergences may lead to a completely different network altogether, or client base, or circle of friends. It’s a beautiful evolution that occurs when we look at the details that psychographics reveal.  “You can begin to integrate that into other areas such as business or work,” says India. It’s through those relationships that you may begin to easily see opportunities that make the most sense for who you are.

Quotes

Erica Courdae

“Demographics really just cue you into the way that you quantify these indicators versus whether or not these indicators actually quantify anything about the person or situation that you are attaching them to.” 

“Influence is where you seek it and where you choose to actually initiate the power that you have in that space.”

“If you think about interests and lifestyles and values and opinions, these are not static concepts, which is why it's so important to understand that they are fluid. 

India Jackson

“I think it's just so important to begin to decide as a culture to shift away from demographics and into psychographics and, I say as a culture, but I want to remind you that you, as one person, can begin to change the culture in your house and your family, in your business and your workplace.” 

“Completely honor the fact that you do have this access and this power and own it and do something with it; do something with it that you can look back on and be proud of.

“I think that humans are always evolving. Humans are malleable; they're movable. And I think that when you're looking at the psychographics instead of the demographics, it also is coming from that same energy of people can change their mind about who they want to be tomorrow, and give them the grace to do that.” 

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