2011 Census Report- 1.3M in T&T: What It Should Mean To You

Yes the headcount is official (one head per person) and of course ‘what it should mean to you’ is in the context of having your business online or having an online business.

The 2011 National Population and Housing Census Demographic Report was launched at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain on February 19, 2013. Headlines proclaimed “More men than women in T&T”, and “It’s official: 1.3M in the country”, “Socouyant seen shopping in Gulf City Mall” (okay, I made up that last one!). The experts and laymen alike will have their take/spin on it and not to be left out, so do I, so let’s see how we can use that ‘valuable intel’ (if at all) to our advantage shall we?

Caveat: The Census Report is NOT Market Research

At first glance the 442 page report was pretty scary. At second glance it was still scary. It didn’t get much better after the third glance so I stopped glancing and tried to read. Believe me, it’s not of the feint of heart, but we’re not using it to build a spaceship, all we need is to extract just the data that’s important for our purposes.

Back to serious, by saying it’s not market research, I’m referring to pure market research about specific demographics, behavior, trends etc., which local big business would carry out and use for campaigns on a national scale and you too if you have access to it. That doesn’t diminish its value to us in any way but I just want to point out the distinction.

What you should be looking at or for

I would say it’s more perspective than anything else; starting with the overall picture then narrowing down to get a sense of it all. This means starting with the general population first in terms of sheer numbers, then a breakdown by number of households and where they’re located.

Household distribution by Municipality

This would give you useful numbers to to put the size of the various towns across the island for geo-targeting, or to show that it’s possible to master your own domain first (your municipality) before venturing outwards.

I think it really exposes the sad truth about how many people are not buying from you.

Population by Age Group

I think this is important as the report observed that, quote: “two age ranges were becoming dominant, 20-34 years and 45-55 years”. All well and good but I’m more interested in the ages between 5 and 19.

The fact that our online market is in the early stage of it’s life cycle means we should be looking at that segment of our population who’s also at theirs. I always use the example of my son to my clients. He’s 13 years old and in Form 2 at the moment, and love or hate the laptop in schools program, he’s using his and is perfectly comfortable with it. Guess what’s going to happen in 5 years when he, and all the other kids in Trinidad & Tobago become adults?

5 years is right around the corner and getting your business prepared is not like flipping a switch. Online for these kids will be as natural as breathing. Hopefully by then we’ll have more of the structural framework that’s missing today. I’m talking online payment systems, local zip codes (which has mysteriously dropped off the radar after much fanfare), logistics- local couriers and TT Post etc., but not only e-commerce, I’m also referring to regular brochure websites as well which will have to be way better than what presently obtains for when these kids are ripe and ready.

Other Demographics: Education, Ethnicity, Religion

Well, I didn’t intend this article as an in depth analysis so I’ll just go so far as to say that the relevance would depend on your product or service. For example, the prevalence of Indian Expos these days shows how relevant that one demographic is (and I’m singling that one out for singling sake, okay Freud?). I would still say that for many small/medium businesses in Trinidad & Tobago most could do with just a 50% increase in their customer base and be happy. My feeling is that there is a minority who really want to rule the world and a majority who want to up their standard of living a few notches.

Caveat: Don’t get bogged down with raw numbers

The raw numbers are to be used for framing the larger picture in my opinion. If your sales are not where you want them to be (and whose isn’t?) then I doubt it’s because the number of households in your municipality is lower than the one next door.

The bottom line is, yes it should mean something to you, but for small/medium businesses, not as much as you think. Download the report and read for yourself.