A practical view and application of psychographic segmentation in UX
Psychographic segmentation is a method that puts your audiences in categories that relate to their personalities and characteristics. This method is different from demographic segmentation because its data is not based on “hard evidence” e.g. age, place of birth but is based on subjective factors. This method fits nicely in the usability testing domain as qualitative research, observing your participants’ behavior, traits, interests, motivations.
How can this method be helpful for you as a UX practitioner and your users?
A short example would be for you to use a copy that resonates with your target audience based on how they are not what they are. Relabeling a call to action from “Submit” to “Connect” is an example of a copy that is directed towards a psychographic segment that groups audiences that are keen on being social or individuals looking for belongingness. Here are some examples of regular segments from some psychographic tests results:
- Influencers
- Minimalists
- Employment seekers
- Angel investors
- Risk takers
- Workaholics
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
In 1943 Abraham Maslow, a psychologist who observed analyzed and categorized people’s motivations published the “Theory of Human Motivation” which is now commonly known (in summary) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
In summary, the theory states that there are 5 stages of needs:
- Physiological needs — food, water, sleep
- Safety needs — security, safety
- Belongingness and love needs — relationship, friendship
- Esteem needs — awards, prestige
- Self-actualization needs — altruism, parenthood
The theory states that before an individual can want or need to the next stage, the current and previous stage he or she is in must be fully satisfied. When visualized, these needs form a pyramid.
Maslow’s theory has recently picked up popularity with its use in advertising and marketing. It has also gained traction in usability methodologies and studies, as well as in the field of customer experience.
Simply put as an example, the theory states that before I can direct my attention to using Facebook, I better eat lunch first because I’m hungry.
It is important to point out that the theory has little scientific basis and has gotten some criticism and versions of improvements (another good read: Maslow 2.0: A New and Improved Recipe for Happiness). However, the theory does hold its ground in many of its applications and can be used as a base of psychographic research and can then further be evolved.
Now that we have a good base of understanding of what psychographic segmentation is, including the knowledge of what Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is, how can UX practitioners use this in helping the users of their products?
Here are my personal opinion and approach to this: First, if you’ve already started studying who your users are psychographically and have started to understand their needs then that is already a huge step in helping them. Having classified the different levels of users based on their needs and improving their experiences based on that can be highly advantageous for them.
For example, let’s say we are building an eLearning platform for cryptocurrency, focused on helping students learn what it is and how to earn from it. Through segmentation, we can identify stages of users where the base of it is for them to understand what cryptocurrency is so that they can gain money from it. There’s another stage of users where they are in a state of influencing others (ranking) based on what they’ve learned about it (verified from tests, etc.). It would not be beneficial if a new user, who we assume do not know what cryptocurrency is, to have an experience directed for him to get higher in the ranking because his base “need” of knowing what it is is not yet met.
Psychographic segmentation is a great compliment to other types of segmentation (demographic, geographic, behavioral). As with most methods, it isn’t a silver bullet (nor does it claim to be) that would solve all your UX problems but should be part of your arsenal of tools, together with other segmentation methods, that can help you identify and deliver a better experience for your users.
