No Lead Left Behind

The Problem with Stereotypes

I object to being demographically stereotyped.  Just because I’m a male, “X” years of age, make “Y” income and like to golf, marketing folks think they know what I’m interested in and how to talk to me.  Wrong!

If you lined up the guys in my neighborhood (subdivision of about 50 houses), you could find 10 peers who all fit the same demographic and even psychographic profile as me.  And even though many of us are targeted by the same marketers with similar messaging, I’ll bet you my next paycheck that the messaging doesn’t appeal to us or resonate with all of us the same way.  You know why?  Because deep down, we’re not all really “birds of a feather”.  We all have different life experiences, different internal motivators, and different current circumstances.  All of that means that I won’t perceive a given marketing message the same as my “look-alike” neighbor, even though we may appear the same based on our demographic and psychographic attributes.

Interestingly, groupings still occur, but they’re based on how people receive and perceive messages, not necessarily their external attributes.  Develop, target and deploy your marketing communiques on that basis, and you’ll find more success.

 JT McDonald