When bullet-proofing your gift selections, knowing your audience can go a long way to ensuring a successful gifting program.  The primary driver of a great gift is perceived value, which is driven by functionality and brand value.  By knowing exactly what types of people you are targeting, you can begin to profile their behavior.  This information is essential in understanding what your target audience perceives as valuable.  History shows that there are three primary demographic considerations that drive great gift selections:  age, income level, and geographic environment.

Age

The age group your bank is targeting can offer a lot of insight into what gifts drive high perceived value.  For example, younger audiences are more accepting of electronics, are more kid oriented given their tendency to have young families, and are on the move more.  Older audiences can also be on the move (high school sports, vacations, etc). Older audiences also have more disposable income and higher home ownership rates. Knowing what’s important in the lives of your target group helps you to select marketing gifts that match their values.

Income Level

The average income of your target market is another important factor.  It helps to understand where they spend money, and what things are important to them. As the old saying goes, “if you want to know what’s important to someone, look at where they spend their money.”  For example, in more middle class areas, luxury items like crystal or tea sets don’t have the same perceived value than in higher income areas.  It’s just not that important to them.  Income level can be a great tell-tale on consumer behavior.

Geographic Environment

The geographic environment, including weather and social trends, is also a great indicator of perceived value. Warmer climates mean more time is spent outdoors.  Leveraging social trends like high school/college athletics can really create a connection with your audience. How can geographic trends affect gifts? Spring and summer items have a longer market in the South, and car safety kits don’t do as well in highly dense major metropolitan areas where downtown living is popular and car ownership is low.

When determining what gifts best fit your market, use the “trifecta” of age, income level, and geographic trends to hone in on the best gift selection for your audience. For more information, please contact River Rock Marketing today!