28/07/2026
How to really understand your audience, beyond demographics
Segmenting consumers based on demographics can be useful as a starting point. Age, gender and income can tell you who your audience is.
But they do not tell you why they choose one brand over another.
Psychographic and behavioural segmentation is the next step. This focuses on the why behind consumer choices, such as interests, values, motivations and attitudes.
The question is, how do you measure that accurately?
We have carried out a range of segmentation projects for different clients using implicit methods. Instead of only asking people what they think or do, we measure the implicit associations they hold around purchasing decisions and behaviours.
This allows us to identify groups based on what people are subconsciously looking for, what drives them and how they move through their consumer journeys.
We then combine this with demographic data to build a more holistic view of the key personas. Demographics tell you who they are. Implicit psychographics help explain what motivates them.
A 2025 study published in Food Quality and Preference segmented consumers based on both implicit and explicit attitudes toward meat and plant-based alternatives. When both measures were combined, five distinct groups emerged.
One of those groups (roughly one in five people) said they rejected meat in surveys, but their implicit responses told a more complicated story.
Rather than confirming a clear preference either way, the implicit data suggested their attitudes were more mixed than their self-reports implied. Relying on surveys alone, that group would have been misread entirely.
That is why psychographic segmentation using implicit testing can help develop more accurate and meaningful personas.
You can read examples of our segmentation work on our website in the case studies section.
