A new study, conducted by business analytics company SAS and Professor Hugh Wilson of Cranfield School of Management says businesses should consider changing their focus from segmenting customers via demographic profiling, and instead start grouping them using their channel and media platform preferences.
Dr Charles Randall, solutions marketing manager as SAS UK, said,
“Marketers need to develop single customer view that goes beyond marketing to touch every single customer facing department, from individual retail outlets to accounts payable. The ability to analyse all of the information about customer preferences and behaviour will ensure that targeted marketing strategies and the channels used, are relevant to the individual and more likely to have the desired impact.”
In the study, over 500 consumers were asked to text in their experiences of different brands across 10 channels and SAS used the results to develop six distinct customer profiles:
- Lifestyle junkie — This group has a positive attitude towards brands and marketing in general and is open to communications across most channels with the exception of call centres.
- Astute alpha — These consumers do not respond well to uninvited outbound communication so use of a product is the best way to engage with them. Astute alphas prefer brand contact that they can control such as face-to-face conversations and online engagement.
- Internet investigator — is customer segment is the most avid online user, internet shopper, product researcher and user of expert recommendation sites. Members of the group turn to family and friends for input and advice.
- Dedicated fan — The dedicated fan notices brand presence online but is only strongly engaged by sponsorship so is 15 times more aware of this than the average consumer
- Social shopper — This group shows the heaviest text message, online and direct mail engagement as well as being an active in-store shopper.
- Detached introvert — This type of consumer is not particularly engaged with brands so the most effective touch points for marketers are ones that consumers comes across within the context of day-to-day activities.
Details of each of these groups is available in the SAS report.
Source: SAS — Have your customers stopped listening to you?
