In the early stages of the development of marketing, it was all about the slogans and the messages. During the 1920’s, many mass-produced products became more readily available to more people, so companies had begun to advertise differently. That was the beginning of the sales era of marketing, according to Dr. Steven White. Rather than the laser-focused approach in advertising we’re used to today, the first generation of copywriters focused their efforts on appealing to the masses.

Understandably, that did not always work as well as intended. In the evolution of marketing, it’s likely that no development was as impactful as the use of demographic data. But what exactly is demographic data and why did it become so important for marketing?

What Is Demographic Data?

When it comes to data, demographics is a statistical study of a population. It usually includes socio-economic information such as population birth rate, income, average age, education, employment, as well as geographic location. It may not look particularly crucial or enlightening for marketers at first glance. However, demographic data is what allows them to know who they’re marketing to instead of going in blind. Let’s have a look at a few common types of demographic data collected for marketing purposes:

• Gender — other than using this information for advertising gender-specific products, it’s also used to determine who the head of the household is — the person who’s receiving all the marketing communication because they’re the ones who make decisions;

• Financial information — household income, home value or net worth can all be useful economic data for marketers;

• Lifestyle and life-stage data — these include age, marital status, children (and their ages) in the household, as well as the household’s consumption habits;

• Geographic data — the addresses of the customers, usually grouped in various standard ways.

Why Is Demographic Data Important?

Demographic data has revolutionized marketing because of its ability to provide insight into who your customers are. Not only that, but it also enables businesses to find the people who possess the attributes of their ideal customers. Most marketers would agree that knowing your target audience and being able to reach them is critical to a successful marketing campaign. Without demographic data, that becomes much harder, if not outright impossible.

A data-driven marketing database includes demographic information and more. Address data, transaction data, shopper data, and campaign history are all parts of a complete marketing database. Demographics has an essential place in any data-driven marketing database and strategy.

Software Solutions Providing Demographic Data

Seeing how vital demographic data is for defining the target of your marketing communication, it becomes clear that businesses should strive to include it in their strategy. Most turn to third-party providers and companies that can offer this information. However, there are also software solutions such as Runner EDQ’s CLEAN_Address that can provide your business with demographic data, among other benefits.

Runner EDQ’s demographic data solutions use a data file of over 2 billion records which cover 170 million households and 250 million individuals in the U.S. It’s a comprehensive database that adds a wealth of information in addition to other features, such as maintaining an updated golden record of customer data.

To learn more about how our solutions help you run your business with decreased costs and enterprise quality data, visit our website. Demographic data is an integral part of the positive change we provide to a company, but it’s not the only one.