Demographics and Market Research
Demographics is the study of the characteristics of people or organizations within a defined geographical location. The more information collected, the more people and organizations can be segmented into smaller common groups with shared attributes.
A key part of your small business marketing strategy will include demographic information. That information helps you identify the individual members of your audience by certain characteristics, wants, and needs.
Use demographic data to:
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Understand the characteristics of the people who buy your products and services.
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See who your brand appeals to the most by age, location, gender, job title, income and hundreds of other variables.
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Spend more marketing to your most enthusiastic clients and stop spending to reach those who aren’t interested.
Demographics are also important for the following functions:
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Business plans - You can use demographic information to determine the size of your target market for your business plan.
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Market research - Market research helps you identify the consumer segments that will probably buy your product or use your service. You may discover that the groups you initially expected to be most responsive to your company are not as interested as you thought, while the groups you thought would show little interest are actually highly responsive.
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Image building - By knowing the age, social class, gender, and other demographics of your current consumers and target audience, you can develop your company’s logo, imagery, and branding to best appeal to your customer base.
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Media use - Demographics and knowing your consumer segments help you better determine how to spend your ad budget. If you have an older target audience, using social media to reach them may not be as effective, as social media audiences tend to be younger (though that trend is changing).
Library Resources
DemographicsNow: Business and People* - Connects users with a wealth of highly detailed demographic data on more than 24 million U.S. businesses and 206 million consumers—making it ideal for gaining consumer and market insight. The database can be used to analyze the market size, build direct marketing lists, choose a location, profile current and potential customers, and research competitors.
Video Tutorials
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Analyzing Market Size and Demographics - Analyze the demographics, attitudes, and spending habits of consumers in any geography in the U.S.
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Assessing Market Risk - Calculate business closure percentages within an industry as part of a larger risk assessment.
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Choosing a Business Location - Help make an informed choice about where to locate a new or expanded business.
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Finding Your Competition - Identify and research the competition to develop an edge in the marketplace.
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Mapping - Visually understand a current or potential market and its consumers.
Reference Solutions* - Powerful database of U.S. and Canadian business and consumer information that can gather new sales leads, learn more about competitors, create consumer mailing lists for your target market and learn about industry trends.
Video Tutorials
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Entrepreneurship: Research for Starting, Managing, and Growing Businesses - Learn how to find the mission-critical information to start, manage, and grow a business.
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Search Essentials - Designed for anyone new to using Reference Solutions.
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Use Cases: Applying Tools and Filters - Experience how others have successfully applied search tools and data filters to produce the exact data needed to enhance their businesses.
Udemy* - Udemy is an online learning platform to help you improve work-related skills or further develop a personal interest. It includes 6,000+ on-demand video courses in multiple languages, including many on using demographic information for marketing.
Traditionally, demographic data can come from a range of sources, like censuses, surveys, and government records.
Government Resources
With U.S. Census data you can find data about an area’s population, income, education, housing, etc.
Other sources of Census data:
The Consumer Expenditure Survey and the American Time Use Survey are available on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Demographic Data page.
State and Local Resources
County Database Extractions provide socioeconomic trend tables for each Missouri county with comparative data for a decade or more.
Regional Demographic Maps from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center show Springfield-area demographic patterns. Similar materials are available from the same source for a dozen other Missouri regions, and for the state as a whole.
Republic Population & Demographics shows the numbers behind this rapidly growing community located in the Springfield metro area.
Springfield Data Profile is sponsored by the Springfield Business Development Corporation and brings together many useful statistics about the Springfield community including the cost of living, crime rates, business opportunities, major employers, and labor availability.
Economic Indicators
Inflation and Cost of Living
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Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is released once a month.
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The Cost of Living Index (also available in a print format at the Library Center) is published quarterly and compares cost-of-living differences among the nation’s urban areas. It includes Springfield, Joplin, Columbia, and other regional cities.
Benchmarks
BizStats gives instant access to useful financial ratios, business statistics, and benchmarks for a number of business types.
Trends and Forecasts
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