Why Values Beat Demographics Every Time
Demographics tell you who your clients are. Values tell you why they make the decisions they make. And when you understand the why, everything changes.
Demographics Tell You Who. This Research Tells You Why.
For decades, marketers and salespeople have relied on demographic data — age, gender, income, job title — to understand their audiences. The problem is that demographics are a poor predictor of behavior. Two event planners with identical demographics can have completely opposite priorities, and therefore make completely different decisions about which bureau to trust and stay with.
What actually drives decisions is what people care about most — the deep-seated priorities that shape who they trust, what they choose, and how they act. When you understand what someone cares about, you can predict their behavior far more accurately than any demographic profile ever could.
Two event planners with identical demographics — same age, income, and job title — can have completely opposite values and make completely different decisions.
Demographics describe who people are on the outside. Values describe what drives them on the inside — and inside is where decisions are made.
Demographic-based marketing produces generic messages that resonate with no one in particular. Values-based marketing produces specific messages that resonate deeply with the people who matter most.
As demographics become less predictive (due to increasing diversity and individualism), values become more important as a predictor of behavior.
Why This Approach Works
Knowing what clients care about predicts their behavior far more accurately than any demographic data.
The same core priorities drive behavior across cultures, geographies, and generations.
The business results are measurable — 24% more trust, 21% more loyalty, and more.
What people care about most is stable over time, making this research durable and reliable.
How Valuegraphics Works
The Valuegraphics methodology is built on the world's largest database of human values — over 1 million surveys across 152 countries and 56 languages.
Survey
Thousands of surveys are conducted with your specific target audience, using the proprietary Valuegraphics survey instrument.
Analyze
Responses are analyzed against the Valuegraphics Database to identify which of the 56 core human values are most strongly shared by your audience.
Segment
The audience is segmented into distinct groups based on shared values — revealing the personas that actually drive behavior.
Apply
Actionable strategies are developed for each persona, grounded in the specific values that drive their decisions.
56 Core Human Priorities
The Valuegraphics research maps 56 core human priorities — the complete set of things that drive human behavior globally. Every study identifies which of these 56 are most strongly shared by a specific audience, and what they mean for that audience's decisions.
For bureau clients, this study identified 14 priorities that matter most, with 3 at the top that have the greatest impact on how clients choose which bureau to work with — and whether they stay.
The Research Behind This Dashboard
This dashboard is powered by a custom Valuegraphics study commissioned specifically for the International Association of Speakers Bureaus (IASB). The research surveyed bureau clients to identify what drives their decisions about which bureaus to work with, trust, and remain loyal to.
Valuegraphics was founded by David Allison, author of "We Are All the Same Age Now" and "The Death of Demographics." The methodology has been used by organizations in 42 countries to improve marketing, sales, product development, and employee engagement.