A Lesser-Known But More Effective Way to Segment Your Customers
Most marketers are familiar with the Technology Adoption Life Cycle Model that Geoffrey Moore popularized in his book, Crossing the Chasm. However, few are familiar with Youngme Moon’s Category Affiliation Model.
In the Technology Adoption Life Cycle Model, Moore introduced a bell curve-shaped segmentation model that describes the types of customers who are more or less likely to try to adopt a new technology over time.
His model groups customers into five segments: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Laggards.
From there he articulates the adoption gap between the Early Adopters and Early Majority and how to traverse this gap–hence the title Crossing the Chasm.
As Moore describes it, the Innovators, who are at the front of the bell curve, tend to be technologists. New products play a central role in their lives, and they often seek out innovations even before they’re marketed publicly.
By definition, there aren’t many Innovators, and while they’re few in number, they tend to be highly influential in a given market.
Similarly, Early adopters proactively seek out new products. However, Early Adopters aren’t technologists, and base their buying decisions on the magnitude of the perceived benefit they’ll get from trying a new product.
The Early Majority, on the other hand, try new products when they become practical, but are occasionally willing to take a chance on an unproven product if someone they trust recommends it–usually an Innovator or Early Adopter.
The Late Majority buys established, proven products; while Laggards resist change and need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the future.
While the Technology Adoption Life Cycle Model was groundbreaking in helping us understand product adoption in immature markets, it has less explanatory power for hyper-mature markets, which most markets are today.
That’s where the Category Affiliation Model comes in.
Unlike the Technology Adoption Life Cycle Model, which focuses on growing awareness of new innovations, the Category Affiliation Model is centered around product fatigue and over-satisfaction. The former explains new adoption patterns; the latter explains over-adoption.
The Category Affiliation model says the world is cluttered, people are fickle, and, given the wealth of products available, there’s not much differentiation, making brand loyalty a mirage. Quality brands are no longer convenient shorthands for what to buy.
When options abound, Moon argues, brands take a backseat and category heuristics win the day. Categories tell you all you need to know about someone. You’re either a beer person or wine person. An EV person or a SUV person. A big box gym or a boutique gym person.
The Category Affiliation Model introduces five customer groups: Connoisseurs, Savvy Opportunists, Pragmatics, Reluctants, and Brand Loyalists.
Connoisseurs: Have refined tastes and knowledge of a category but aren’t usually brand loyal. Connoisseurs are cynical about new products in a category, but very interested in the category itself.
Savvy Opportunists: Are as discriminating in their tastes as Connoisseurs are, however, they’re purely transactional players in the market. They only care about the category to the degree they can use the information they’ve learned to get some sort of advantage in price, performance, etc.
Pragmatics: View all brands in a category as similar. They make decisions based on heuristics like price and convenience. They’re indifferent to the category and purchase the way you and I would purchase gas, choosing the cheapest, most convenient option.
Reluctants: Have limited knowledge of a given category, only participate in a category when forced by need, and seek quick efficient experiences.
Brand Loyalists: Are stubborn buyers who purchase products from their preferred brands even when presented with better options. Irrational passion drives their decisions-making.
So what makes the Category Affiliation Model more effective for segmentation?
Outside of its applicability for hyper-mature versus immature markets, the most compelling aspect of the Category Affiliation Model is that it offers a nuanced approach to understanding a customer’s purchase habits.
It accounts for the complexity of categories as an input, which can helpful for creating targeted messaging.
For Brand Loyalists, you can play up your brand attributes. For Reluctants, you can talk about how easy and painless the purchase experience is. For Connoisseurs, you can nerd out on features and get into product minutiae, and on and on.
The model treats people as complex individuals. A single customer can be a Connoisseur in the whiskey market, a Reluctant in the laptops category, a Pragmatic when it comes to linen and bedding, and a Brand Loyalist for cars.
Most markets are hyper-mature, and most people exhibit diverse buying behaviors across categories. By embracing this diversity, the Category Affiliation Model allows you to segment your customers more accurately.