Editor’s note: Laura Albert is a marketing insights associate for Pittsburgh-based research firm CivicScience.
Everyone has that friend or family member who tells them about the latest new tech gadget they bought or a really great band that they started listening to. Those individuals may be defined as market mavens, and they are a very important consumer segment for advertisers and marketers to understand.
Outside of the traditional, financial markets definition of a market maven, in the context of general consumerism, they stand apart for their propensity to have information on the latest products and trends, they know the best places to shop and they are more likely to be early adopters of new products and offerings. Not only are these individuals early adopters but they are also vocal advocates: telling their friends and family about their new purchases and the new offerings, essentially making them unofficial grassroots-marketers for businesses. They are a trusted source of information among their friends and family and a recommendation is going to make much more of an impact than an ad online or on TV. It is essential to understand the market mavens of your specific brand or company as they have the potential to impact other consumers’ purchases that you may not reach on your own.
A recent report published by CivicScience analyzes the fabric of these market mavens among U.S. adults, looking into their shopping habits, interests and technology usage – all of which will help businesses better target this desirable group of consumers.
One interesting revelation in the data is that market mavens have very similar demographics to the general population; however, there are some slight differences. For example, 33 percent live in a city, which is only 10 percent more than the general population.
The juicier information was discovered when our team mined the data beyond demographics, to learn more about their preferences and behaviors across a wide range of attributes.
Here are the top four things we found that we recommend marketers and researchers to consider when targeting the general market maven:
They are very involved with their purchases. When compared to the general population, market mavens are bigger product researchers: they are 45 percent more likely to always seek out online reviews for items they want to purchase and 24 percent more likely to always compare prices before deciding to purchase a product. Much of their path to purchase is done online, as they are 24 percent more likely to do at least half of their shopping online.
They can be reached on social sites. Market mavens are more likely to use social networking sites in general, especially Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. They are 60 percent more likely than the general population to use Twitter, 50 percent more likely to use Instagram and 50 percent more likely to use Tumblr. Social media sites are a great way to share new product offerings since market mavens are not only more likely to be on those sites but they are also more likely to say social media influences their purchases more than TV or the Internet. Offline, market mavens are 30 percent more likely than the general population to say they are outgoing in social situations, which correlates strongly with their vocal nature about trying new things.
The majority follow trends in technology and fitness. Eighty-three percent of market mavens follow trends and current events in electronics and technology, which is 2.5 times more likely than the general population, and 52 percent follow trends and current events in health and fitness, which is 33 percent more than the general population. Insight discoveries like this suggest that this group will be ideal for areas where tech and health collide, such as with wearable fitness trackers and wellness monitors.
They don’t need financial incentives to spread the word about your brand. This is why targeting the market mavens of your brand may be lucrative – they don’t need an incentive to be a mouthpiece, it comes naturally to them. They enjoy trying new products and they like to share their experiences with the people around them. By understanding how to reach them, you can inform them of new products or offerings, and in turn they will become a spokesperson for your brand.
Market mavens have the potential of reaching consumers that are difficult to target or influence, casting a wider net of prospective customers for your business.