Not Your Typical Consumer Segments: How Q Methodology Finds Groups Based on Viewpoints, Not Demographics – Part One

Businesses have been segmenting consumers for decades.

Age. Income. Gender. Geographic location. Education. Household composition. Purchasing behavior.

These characteristics can be useful. They help organizations describe an audience and identify differences among consumers.

But there is something demographics cannot necessarily tell us:

How people think

Two consumers can look remarkably similar on paper and approach the same decision in completely different ways. At the same time, two people with very different demographic backgrounds may share surprisingly similar viewpoints.

This is where Q Methodology offers a different way to think about consumer segmentation.

Traditional Segmentation Starts with Characteristics

Traditional market segmentation often begins by dividing consumers according to characteristics researchers already know about them.

A company might compare younger and older consumers, higher- and lower-income households, frequent and occasional purchasers, or consumers living in different geographic regions.

There is nothing inherently wrong with doing this. Depending on the research question, these distinctions can provide valuable information.

The limitation is that the groups are usually defined before we examine how people think about the issue.

We decide that age, income, location, or another characteristic may be important and then investigate whether those groups differ.

Q Methodology approaches the question from another direction.

Start with the Viewpoint, Not the Demographic

In a Q study, participants are not initially grouped because they share an age range, income level, purchasing frequency, or other demographic characteristic.

Instead, as I discussed in my previous post, participants complete a Q-sort by ranking a set of statements according to their own perspectives.

Factor analysis is then used to identify participants whose overall sorting patterns are similar.

The groups emerge because participants think about the issue in similar ways. Only after those shared perspectives have been identified do researchers examine who is associated with each viewpoint and what other characteristics those participants may have in common.

That distinction is important.

Rather than beginning with the assumption that certain types of people think alike, Q Methodology allows the patterns in the data to show us which people actually do.

People Who Look Alike May Not Think Alike

Imagine two consumers who are both 45 years old, live in suburban communities, have similar household incomes, and regularly purchase the same type of product. 

From a traditional segmentation perspective, they might easily fall into the same target market.

But one consumer may place considerable trust in expert recommendations and independent product reviews. The other may be skeptical of experts and instead rely heavily on friends, online communities, and personal experience.

 Demographically, they look similar. But appearances can be deceiving.

 From a decision-making perspective, they may belong to very different audiences.

 That difference matters when an organization is trying to understand its consumers.

And People Who Look Different May Share a Viewpoint

The reverse can also happen.

A 30-year-old consumer and a 60-year-old consumer may differ in age, income, family structure, and purchasing habits but still evaluate information in remarkably similar ways. 

Perhaps both are highly skeptical of paid advertising. Maybe both prioritize recommendations from people they know. Or perhaps both seek information from several sources before making a decision.

Traditional demographic segmentation might place them in completely different groups.

 A Q study may reveal that they share an underlying perspective.

 This does not mean demographics are unimportant. It means demographics and viewpoints answer different questions.

 Demographics help tell us who people are.

 Q Methodology can help us understand how they see an issue. Any issue. Including what to buy.

 Looking at consumers through both lenses can provide a richer understanding of an audience—and may reveal connections among consumers that traditional segmentation alone would never uncover.

 In my next post, I’ll take this idea one step further and look at what viewpoint-based segments can tell marketers—and what they cannot. See you next Thursday.

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