Market segmentation is all set to change with the advent of the ‘super consumer’. Traditional marketing too will undergo an overhaul and change the way brands approach marketing as we crack the code of identifying the most profitable and engaged consumer, thereby promising better marketing effectiveness.
The concept of ‘super consumers’ is fairly simple. They are those who connect with a particular product category besides buying a lot in that category. They are a cross-section of heavy users and heavily engaged users. They are important to the marketer because they are the primary set of consumers who will drive profits for the brand. This is because they are emotionally engaged, and will participate more in offers and be open to innovations. Additionally, they are influential as trendsetters.
A recent study conducted by The Cambridge Group (TCG) – a consulting arm of Nielsen, across 200 categories, established the path breaking fact that the ‘20% driving 80%’ business principle that most of us are used to, has been further refined to ‘10% driving 60%’. This implies that it is this 10% of the super consumer category who will drive 60% of the profits for a brand – an insight that could create significant outcomes for savvy marketers.
Roosevelt D’Souza, Senior Vice President, Nielsen India said “We found four common traits amongst them. They are:
Experimental and have a risk-taking appetite.
Early adopters and not easily satisfied. They are always looking for more and newer things.
Well informed and involved, as they read a lot.
Talk a lot and are active on social media.
Their attitudes, their perceptions and their beliefs set them apart. From category knowledge to brand awareness, it’s evident that they are a notch above the regular consumer.”
This brings us to the question, what’s in it for brands and how can they leverage their super consumers? Some of the insights pave the way:
These super consumers love personal attention, so connect with them on a personal level.
Treat them as your advocates. Involve them in your brand activities like pre-launch, feedback sessions, future trend spotting etc.
Customise for them, build specific marketing, budgeting and distribution for these consumers to make them feel privileged.
This will change the way brands are marketed. The small percentage of super consumer will drive a large part of the business, making segmentation a whole new ballgame.