We are all more complex than our age, gender, income, or marital status. What we believe, what we value, and how we perceive the world makes us uniquely human. Our values shape who we are intrinsically and determine everything we do. Here, we dive into why demographics don’t tell the whole story and how you can use valuegraphics to add value to your meetings and events.
David Allison, founder of the Valuegraphics Project, believes demographics are an outdated, one-dimensional marketing tool. He believes there are three audience insights. “Demographics describe your target audience, psychographics are a record of what they’ve done and felt and thought so far. And valuegraphics identify the core values that will motivate them most.”
That’s right. Human values are now a predictive business insight, according to Allison.
A valuegraphics profile can accurately identify the values your target audience shares. And once you know their shared values, you can emphasize those in your event’s marketing campaign. Drilling down to better understand how your attendees feel and what they value lessens the margin of error and improves your ROI. And in our industry, this bolsters both in-person attendance and involvement at meetings, conferences, and other on-site events.
Common Values Unite Us All
From 750,000 surveys in 152 languages around the world in 180 countries, Allison created a database and identified and measured 56 core human values. Values do shift by region, but the top five globally are, in this order:
- Family
- Relationships
- Financial security
- Belonging
- Community
Rather than focusing on demographics, Allison suggests you ask the question: What are the values that motivate your audience? Just because your attendees are in the same generational demographic doesn’t mean their valuegraphics profiles align. Valuegraphics takes into account generational dynamics, and those must be considered when creating any marketing or incentive strategy.
Why Should We Care About Valuegraphics?
What we value determines what we do. If we are values-driven, it stands to reason that we are motivated by what we believe in. Every organization wants to persuade people to act in some way. In the meetings and incentives industry, understanding people’s motivation is paramount to reaching them. Personalized experiences matter and will help your meetings and events thrive.
By approaching business from a values-driven perspective, you can create an experience (designed to educate, train, or reward) that connects more directly (emotionally) to your audiences’ values. Knowing what motivates them is necessary to get the behavior you’re seeking. And when your organization’s values align with your attendees’ values, an unbreakable synergy is formed.
How do you find out what your target audience cares about? Ask them! Survey, informally chat, or just point-blank ask them. They’ll appreciate that you care enough to ask, and the reward of knowing what drives them will deliver better results for all!
