Report: Seven Different Kinds of Mobile Customers

There are seven different kinds of mobile customers that brands can market to according to the Always-On Consumer report conducted by Experian Marketing Services.

The report examines the attitudes and behaviors of today’s smartphone owners and how the rapid adoption of smartphones and other connected devices has transformed the way customers learn about and buy products.

The seven segments detailed in the Always-On Consumer report include:

Prodigies: Making up 5% of mobile users, Prodigies are constantly connected and are the first to adopt new technology. They are a strong market for Windows phones and open source platforms that allow for greater customization. Chrome, Google+ and Google Talk have high concentrations of Prodigies among their users. Prodigies are nearly 10 times more likely than the average smartphone owner to say they would be interested in receiving ads on their phones and seven times more likely to say they would buy the products in those ads. Likewise, they are nearly six times more likely to purchase products they see advertised on social media.

Tribals: This group is hyper-connected, often through multiple devices. Thirteen percent of consumers are Tribals; they are both heavily influenced by and strong influencers of others through social media. Tribals are the most likely to use the Internet to plan shopping trips and are influenced by Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr and other highly visual properties.

Personals: Personals, as described above, are mobile-savvy users who love their phone but are increasingly cutting out the middle man when it comes to connecting with friends, preferring direct messaging to social media. In addition to heavy messaging apps usage and low social media usage, Personals are 2.3 times more likely than the average smartphone owner to say they would be interested in receiving ads on their phone and 60 percent more likely to say they would actually purchase products advertised on their phone.

Pragmatists: Pragmatists make up about 18% of consumers and are mobile professionals who use their phones primarily to stay on top of work and home. Pragmatists are open to advertising on their phones, but they need to get something in return. Otherwise, this segment is less likely than average to purchase items they see advertised on their phone.

Browsers: At 24%, the largest group of consumers is Browsers, those that are still learning about all the things they can do with their phone, primarily browsing the mobile web and consuming a bit of news. Among Browsers who use social media, only 3 percent say they are likely to purchase products that they see advertised on social sites. Even fewer Browsers say they are likely to purchase products they see advertised on their phone.

Occasionals: At 11%, this group of smartphone users is those that use their smartphones mostly for making calls, playing a game and checking the weather, while the myriad of additional features go unused. Occasionals are much more receptive to digital campaigns on their personal computer and more open to native advertising in print newspapers and e-readers.

Talkers: Mobile use among this group is fairly light. At 13% of consumers, Talkers use their phone mainly for verbal conversations and the occasional video phone call.  As such, digital and mobile campaigns are most effective with this group primarily to supplement campaigns run in traditional media.

Bill Tancer, general manager of global research, Experian Marketing Services, told Loyalty360 that the biggest takeaway from this study as far as its impact on brands and customer-building techniques was the fact that mobile users can vary widely in how they use their smartphones.

“Given those differences, brands should consider which user-types are most predominant in their target demographic and build a strategy specific to their segment,” Tancer said.

Biggest surprise?

“Two big surprises,” Tancer explained. “First, that the largest mobile segment accounts for 24% of all smartphone users, and they tend to do everything on their browser versus using apps (we call that segment the browsers).  From the above question, if "browsers" tend to be a major segment for a retailer/brand, then spending money on building out an app strategy might not be the best strategy. The second surprise is that one of the segments is churning off of social media, preferring one-to-one communication, and this group just happens to be younger smart-phone users between the ages of 18-24.”

Tancer said seven smartphone user segments are definitely manageable.

“The first step for a business that wants to appropriately address its smartphone enabled customer would be to append this segmentation to their user base to measure each segment and its importance, and then develop a strategy based on the most important and relevant smartphone users,” he said.

Advice for companies who haven’t delved into mobile?

“Don’t jump into the space blind,” he said. “You’ll want to develop a strategy around your customer versus having your customer change their smartphone habits to fit your strategy.”

The report was a comprehensive survey of 25,000 U.S. adults.

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