What are behavioral vs demographic vs psychographic signals?

Demographic signals tell you who someone is. Age, location, job title, income level. These are facts about the person that typically don't change rapidly.

Behavioral signals tell you what someone does. Clicks, purchases, page views, email engagement, app usage. These are actions you observe, and they can change moment to moment.

Psychographic signals tell you why someone acts. Values, attitudes, interests, lifestyle choices, motivations. These are harder to measure but often more predictive of future behavior.

An example shows the difference:

Demographic: 35-year-old marketing manager in London.

Behavioral: Clicked on three blog posts about email automation this week.

Psychographic: Values efficiency and data-driven decision making.

Demographics are easiest to collect. Behavior is most actionable. Psychographics are most powerful but require inference or explicit collection.

Strong segmentation uses all three. Demographics provide targeting efficiency. Behavior signals timing and intent. Psychographics shape messaging and positioning. The combination creates segments that are both reachable and receptive.