brandzillas: Hoping The Tin Can Will Ring

How do you communicate with your customers and what is their demographic?

That question seems to pop up on every management report, at every marketing and sales meeting and in every conversation with one of your good customers. After a while, the answer seems to become your mantra.

But is the traditional view of communicating to household income, gender, race and age demographic enough? Not in the digital world of today.

A more important communication demographic breakout is needed in the new digital economy. Our solution is what we call it a digographic. A digographic is a measurement of the internet and computer competence of consumers.

Consumer digographics can be broken into 4 different groups:

1) Digital Natives. This group of consumers was the first group to grow up with the internet. The age range for this group goes from about 12 to 21 years old. This group’s brains are actually hardwired differently as they have been internet savvy since early childhood and do not remember a life without the web. Digital technology is part of their being. Main media for communication: Web, cell phones and computers.

2) Near Natives. Consumers in this group are very digitally adept and use technology to better their lives and save time. Although they do remember a time without the internet (started to use the internet in Jr. High to High School), it is now a major part of their lives. Near Naives are constantly trying to stay on top of technology as they realize its importance in trying to get ahead in the world. This group was the first generation to use cell phones to enhance social interaction as evidenced by their early adoption of text messaging. One major difference between Near Natives and Natives is their expertise at figuring out how to learn the more complicated uses of digital devises. Just watch a Native figure out the features on a new digital toy and you’ll see a big difference between them and the Near Natives. Near Natives will look at the instructions while the Native uses the inherent design to guide them on how to use the technology. Age range for Near Natives usually ranges from about 22 to 32 years old. Main media for communications: Web, cell phones, computers and TV.

3) Digital Immigrants. These consumers use digital technology but are always trying to come to grips with its use. Because Digital Immigrants grew up in an analog world, the use of digital things like computers, cell phones and digital toys (cameras, ipods, ect.) do not come second nature. Digital Immigrants currently make up the largest pool of consumers but this will change as Natives and Near Natives get older. One special note here: There are obviously different levels of digital competence with Immigrants, but the main thing to consider is that a digital life is foreign to them and even though some have adapted very well to the digital age, their minds tend to process information like it did in the old analog world. Main media for communications: TV, radio, newspaper and computers.

4) Digital Indigents. Digital Indigents still live in an analog world. Even the use of cell phones is foreign to many in this group. Most Indigents don’t even care to participate in the digital age and are proud to state so. Communicating to this group through traditional media is easier, but be careful. Depending on the product category, the advertising to purchases return ratio can be rather low because of the Indigents position in life. Main media for communications: TV, radio and newspaper.

The point that I am trying to make here is that a new demographics model is needed for the digital age. When working on marketing tactics and strategies, it is now wiser to consider more than just traditional demographics when identifying your targets.

Trying to communicate with customers that are pigeonholed by traditional demographics may just be like hoping a tin-can phone will ring. Without considering your customer’s digographics, the only person that may hear your brand message is you.