{"id":2964952,"date":"2026-05-20T10:29:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2964952"},"modified":"2026-05-20T10:29:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:29:03","slug":"business-analyst-target-marketing-survey-profiles","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/analytics\/business-analyst-target-marketing-survey-profiles","title":{"rendered":"No customer data? No problem! Use survey profiles in Business Analyst target marketing"},"author":78361,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23341,37141,430222],"tags":[],"industry":[],"product":[36711,36561],"class_list":["post-2964952","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analytics","category-decision-support","category-retail","product-bus-analyst","product-arcgis-pro"],"acf":{"authors":[{"ID":78361,"user_firstname":"Gemma","user_lastname":"Goodale-Sussen","nickname":"Gemma Goodale-Sussen","user_nicename":"ggoodalesussen","display_name":"Gemma Goodale-Sussen","user_email":"ggoodalesussen@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2020-08-06 15:49:58","user_description":"Gemma is a writer at Esri, focusing on content for the ArcGIS Business Analyst team.","user_avatar":""},{"ID":4121,"user_firstname":"Kyle","user_lastname":"Watson","nickname":"Kyle Watson","user_nicename":"kwatsonesri","display_name":"Kyle Watson","user_email":"kwatson@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2018-03-02 00:15:42","user_description":"I work on the ArcGIS Business Analyst dev team at Esri. I am a marginally creative type with a focus on building GIS software + demographic data capabilities for our user community. Byproducts are: lots of UX design, requirements gathering, coding, testing, doc, best practices, coffee, etc.","user_avatar":""}],"short_description":"Learn how and when to use survey profiles as a proxy for customer data in the target marketing workflow.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Target marketing<\/a> is one of ArcGIS Business Analyst Pro\u2019s oldest and proudest traditions, a wizard-driven workflow that uses demographic data to paint a portrait of your customers. Drawing together your customer location data with ArcGIS Tapestry segmentation data, the wizard performs a complex analysis that depicts your current market as multi-faceted human beings rather than mere data points. In the end, you are provided with an array of map layers<\/a> and reports<\/a> that plot out your next steps. All this, just from the customer data you have on hand!<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2964970,"id":2964970,"title":"Image 1 - map and reports","filename":"Image-1-map-and-reports.png","filesize":778360,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-1-map-and-reports.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/analytics\/business-analyst-target-marketing-survey-profiles\/image-1-map-and-reports","alt":"Map and reports created with target marketing","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"","name":"image-1-map-and-reports","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2964952,"date":"2026-05-06 19:00:29","modified":"2026-05-06 19:00:38","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1904,"height":969,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-1-map-and-reports-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-1-map-and-reports.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":236,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-1-map-and-reports.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":391,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-1-map-and-reports.png","large-width":1904,"large-height":969,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-1-map-and-reports-1536x782.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":782,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-1-map-and-reports.png","2048x2048-width":1904,"2048x2048-height":969,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-1-map-and-reports-826x420.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":420,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-1-map-and-reports.png","wide_image-width":1904,"wide_image-height":969}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

But what if you don\u2019t have access to customer data? Many users don\u2019t realize that there is a path through target marketing, even without a dataset containing customers\u2019 locations and purchasing stats. The Business Analyst Pro 3.7 release foregrounds survey profiles in the workflow\u2019s interface, allowing you to take advantage of them as a proxy for customer data\u2014read on to learn why and how.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2964971,"id":2964971,"title":"Image 2 - survey profile option in wizard_3","filename":"Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3.gif","filesize":5108287,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3.gif","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/analytics\/business-analyst-target-marketing-survey-profiles\/image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3","alt":"Survey profile option in target marketing wizard","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"","name":"image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2964952,"date":"2026-05-06 19:01:10","modified":"2026-05-06 19:01:16","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/gif","type":"image","subtype":"gif","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":844,"height":742,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3-213x200.gif","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3.gif","medium-width":297,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3.gif","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":675,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3.gif","large-width":844,"large-height":742,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3.gif","1536x1536-width":844,"1536x1536-height":742,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3.gif","2048x2048-width":844,"2048x2048-height":742,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3-529x465.gif","card_image-width":529,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-2-survey-profile-option-in-wizard_3.gif","wide_image-width":844,"wide_image-height":742}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

To learn all about the Market Potential dataset, check out Got five minutes? Get to know Market Potential data<\/a>.<\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Right","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

What are survey profiles?<\/h2>\n

Survey profiles are statistical summaries of market potential data that can be mapped. They are gathered from surveys about consumer behaviors, like purchases, product use, or media-listening habits.<\/span> The surveys are performed regularly by MRI-Simmons<\/a> and published as the Esri Market Potential<\/a> dataset. The surveys assess consumer attitudes toward a vast range of products and behaviors, estimating how many people in an area are expected to buy things, do things, or have certain opinions.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2964973,"id":2964973,"title":"Image 3 - market potential map","filename":"Image-3-market-potential-map.png","filesize":919900,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-3-market-potential-map.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/analytics\/business-analyst-target-marketing-survey-profiles\/image-3-market-potential-map","alt":"Map of Market Potential data","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"A color-coded map of Market Potential data showing how many people purchased clothing online in the last six months in each ZIP code in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.","name":"image-3-market-potential-map","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2964952,"date":"2026-05-06 19:04:14","modified":"2026-05-06 19:04:28","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1263,"height":803,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-3-market-potential-map-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-3-market-potential-map.png","medium-width":411,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-3-market-potential-map.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-3-market-potential-map.png","large-width":1263,"large-height":803,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-3-market-potential-map.png","1536x1536-width":1263,"1536x1536-height":803,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-3-market-potential-map.png","2048x2048-width":1263,"2048x2048-height":803,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-3-market-potential-map-731x465.png","card_image-width":731,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-3-market-potential-map.png","wide_image-width":1263,"wide_image-height":803}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

In the Target Marketing workflow, this consumer survey data is packaged as \u201csurvey profiles\u201d that indicate the number of people purchasing a product at your selected geography level. So, rather than using your own data that counts the number of customers your business<\/em> has in the area, you\u2019ll use data that counts the number of customers your product<\/em> has in the area. Choose a product type in the first step of the workflow, and you\u2019ve got a customer profile without having to add customer data!<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2964974,"id":2964974,"title":"Image 4 - product categories for survey profiles","filename":"Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles.png","filesize":149176,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/analytics\/business-analyst-target-marketing-survey-profiles\/image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles","alt":"Product categories for survey profiles","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"","name":"image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2964952,"date":"2026-05-06 19:04:51","modified":"2026-05-06 19:05:00","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1127,"height":724,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles.png","medium-width":406,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":493,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles.png","large-width":1127,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles.png","1536x1536-width":1127,"1536x1536-height":724,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles.png","2048x2048-width":1127,"2048x2048-height":724,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles-724x465.png","card_image-width":724,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-4-product-categories-for-survey-profiles.png","wide_image-width":1127,"wide_image-height":724}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

How do survey profiles replace customer data?<\/h2>\n

Survey profile data can stand in for your proprietary customer location layer because the calculations performed in target marketing rely on the count of customers in each block group\u2014not their precise location. Although the workflow asks for customer point data, it actually only uses the points to extract totals, which are then used to calculate various ratios.<\/p>\n

For example, imagine you run an auto shop that specializes in foreign cars, BMWs specifically. You would have liked to use a layer of customer location points to create a profile in target marketing but darn it\u2026you don\u2019t have that kind of data. Instead, you use a survey profile in Automobiles and Automotive Products category: 1089 (H) BMW: Most Recent HH Vehicle Purchase or Lease<\/strong>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2964975,"id":2964975,"title":"Image 5 - survey profile for BMW","filename":"Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW.png","filesize":202480,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/analytics\/business-analyst-target-marketing-survey-profiles\/image-5-survey-profile-for-bmw","alt":"Survey profile for BMW purchasers","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"","name":"image-5-survey-profile-for-bmw","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2964952,"date":"2026-05-06 19:05:36","modified":"2026-05-06 19:05:45","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1127,"height":724,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW.png","medium-width":406,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":493,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW.png","large-width":1127,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW.png","1536x1536-width":1127,"1536x1536-height":724,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW.png","2048x2048-width":1127,"2048x2048-height":724,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW-724x465.png","card_image-width":724,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-5-survey-profile-for-BMW.png","wide_image-width":1127,"wide_image-height":724}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

You\u2019ll be amazed at the depth and granularity of the survey data, and how closely it can match up with your business type. The important detail to get right is the segmentation base. When you create a customer profile from your own data, you must pick a Segmentation Base<\/strong> option, which you select based on your business or product type:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2964976,"id":2964976,"title":"Image 6 - choosing a segmentation base","filename":"Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base.png","filesize":41552,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/analytics\/business-analyst-target-marketing-survey-profiles\/image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base","alt":"Choosing a segmentation base","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"","name":"image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2964952,"date":"2026-05-06 19:06:05","modified":"2026-05-06 19:06:13","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":377,"height":299,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base.png","medium-width":329,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base.png","medium_large-width":377,"medium_large-height":299,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base.png","large-width":377,"large-height":299,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base.png","1536x1536-width":377,"1536x1536-height":299,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base.png","2048x2048-width":377,"2048x2048-height":299,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base.png","card_image-width":377,"card_image-height":299,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Image-6-choosing-a-segmentation-base.png","wide_image-width":377,"wide_image-height":299}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The general guidance is:<\/p>\n