Knowing in detail the consumer profile of a product or service is essential to define 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 does not buy them). That is 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.
The consumer profile is a detailed description of the characteristics, behaviours, needs and preferences of the consumers of a category or brand of products and services.
It should be noted that we generally speak of a «consumer profile», but sometimes we have different profiles depending on the category and brand under study:
Sometimes these terms are interchangeable, as the consumer, buyer or customer may be the same person. When they are not, most research experts are very precise when using the language, as the ways to find 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 a consumer may have. For example, finding out how many consumers there are in each age group is part of the consumer profile. And that data will be of interest to us 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. although the over 55s are responsible for 40% of the category’s purchases, they only account for 25% of the brand’s purchases). Therefore the brand is not as attractive to the over 55s as the other options in the category).
The most common way to find out the consumer profile is to launch online market research to collect a precise quantification of each variable. Having a panel of consumers allows access to a sample of which a good part of their characteristics are already known.
Understanding the consumer involves assessing different aspects of the consumer profile. Here is a list of the most common topics that you can include through specific questions in your research.
Demographic profile
The demographic profile describes the characteristics of households and the individuals living in them. Some socio-demographic data pertain to the household and generally affect all individuals living in the household. Others are particular to each individual.
Some common household demographic data are:
There are other demographic data that are specific to each individual, for example:
If you are thinking of doing a study on a consumer panel, you will not have to worry about all these variables, as they will be collected beforehand.
Sometimes it is important to know whether households have certain equipment. For example, in the coffee capsules example above, the brand may be interested in whether households have an electric coffee machine and what type. Depending on the sector, other brands may find it useful to know if they have a fridge or fridge-freezer, or if they have a freezer cabinet. Others may be interested in whether the individual has only a mobile phone or also a computer or tablet. Or how many cars are available in the household and what segment or make.
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 a greater or lesser taste for ethnic food. Or when buying their next car, they consider safety attributes more or less.
When conducting a study to define the consumer profile, it is also important to collect information on the purchasing and consumption habits of the category.
Sometimes, in order to strengthen communication, respondents are also asked which media they regularly consume. In this way, the most relevant media can be selected in the media plan, including traditional media such as television or radio or the different social media.
Knowing the consumer profile helps to answer one of the most important questions that every marketing plan should contain: What is the target audience?
Theoretically, a brand’s target audience should be all potential buyers in a market. The wider the target audience, the better the chances for growth. But in reality, only the big brands have portfolios and budgets that allow them to address the whole market at once. For all other brands, trying to please everyone can result in appealing to no one. Focusing efforts on specific consumer groups that are easy to grow among is often a better use of budget in the short term. And in the long run, the circle can be opened up with new varieties and propositions that incrementally attract consumers to the base.
And that is why it is so important to know the consumer profile in detail. A brand with a young profile and low awareness can build on the current consumer profile and convince more similar consumers to buy the product. Conversely, a developed brand will be able to prioritise the consumers among whom it sells less than proportionally to the category in order to close the flanks where it is not so attractive.
Moreover, the more detailed the reading of the consumer profile, the easier it is to translate the information into action. Once we know who we want to strategically target, we can use the profile information to define new product varieties, reinforce brand attributes or conduct communication campaigns that appeal to the desired consumer group through the media they are regularly exposed to.
For all these reasons, it is imperative to know the current consumer profile of the category and brands in order to make the best decisions. And also to measure it on a regular basis in order to understand if the actions of the marketing plan manage to progress in line with the established objectives.
At We are testers we have a consumer panel of 130,000 individuals for whom we know all their demographics, as well as some variables related to home equipment and category-level attitudes that we have collected over time. This way, we can quickly provide you with the sample that suits you best and you don’t need to enter all these questions in your questionnaire. This keeps the costs contained and you have more space in your questionnaire to introduce other questions that provide you with richer information.
Interested in getting to know your consumer profile? Do you want to know your shoppers and customers better? Contact our experts to give you all the details on how to achieve this.
Update date 5 August, 2024
