One of the most important components of a successful marketing campaign is the ability to accurately target the consumers or prospects most likely to be interested in your products or services. Skilled marketers will often refer to wanting to take a “laser” (narrow) focus rather than a “shotgun” (wide) approach to targeting their potential customers. One of the best ways to selectively identify your target customers is through the use of demographics.

Demographics are a statistical measurement designed to identify population segments based upon certain criteria, such as age, income, sex, job status, and more. A SMB (small or mid-sized business) owner turns to demographics data in order to gain insights into which prospects are best suited for his/her services and/or products.  They can then use these insights to craft their brand messaging, customize packaging, create advertising, and establish pricing.

Here at TribalVision, having recently opened an office in the Boston/Cambridge metropolitan area, we thought it would be a fun exercise to do some analysis of demographic data for the Boston region, as provided by the United States Census Bureau.  On the US Census Bureau website, there is a wealth of information available about the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy Metro Area, and for the infographic we created below, we used their 2011 ACS (American Community Survey) 5-year estimates (average data from 2007-2011).

We tried to balance rigid statistical analysis with a little bit of fun in this project, and we hope you enjoy this demographics-based look into the makeup of the Boston region.  From a marketing perspective, there are some good nuggets within this data. For example, although the average household income in Boston is listed at $71,878 annually, there are over 150,000 households earning in excess of $200k per year.  High-end retailers would certainly find that information to be valuable.

Feel free to add your comments or your questions below, and note the embed code provided below if you’d like to feature this graphic on your own website or blog.