Understanding how consumers move through life stages is important when trying to communicate effectively. As a marketer, you need to differentiate your messaging strategy from competitors with the goal of drawing prospective customers towards your product offering. Experian’s Mosaic® segmentation solution assigns consumers to 71 different types using geographic and demographic attributes based on the consumer’s current life stage. However, as consumer circumstances change, marketers need to predict what life stage consumers are likely evolving into so they can employ the appropriate marketing strategy for customers and prospects.
Let us look at Dana as an example. Dana is a 32-year old, married female, college-educated, with two young children, on the verge of career promotion. She and her spouse have recently purchased their first home. As they settle in with their children, aged 2 and 4, they are looking into saving and investing for the future. Dana is ambitious to advance in her career and make more money so that she can save for a bigger home as her family needs more space. She is also planning for a bigger car and future college expenses for her children.
Today, Dana falls within the Promising Families Mosaic group. However, over the next few years as she is charting her future, she gets older, her income increases, her children age, and her lifestyle evolves. Dana is more likely to transition to the Flourishing Families or Power Elite Mosaic group. If a marketer could predict the shifts that Dana is going to make in life, this knowledge could help to proactively target her earlier to build brand awareness and meet her changing needs before the competition. Knowing these changes provides marketers a huge advantage over the competition and enables more profitable growth through proactive targeting.
Experian has developed ConsumerViewSM Trending data that enables marketers to see how consumers migrate over time. The purpose of this analysis is to:
- Understand changes in Consumer Segments data over time by assessing dominant segment groups prior to the current groups
- Evaluate stability of Mosaic segments over time
- Predict potential groups the Mosaics are likely to end up in the future
Understanding the Evolution to Power Elite
One of the most affluent Mosaic Groups is the Power Elite. They are the wealthiest households in the US, living in the most exclusive neighborhoods, and enjoying all that life has to offer.
The study reveals that approximately 46% of the Power Elites evolved from other Mosaic groups, predominantly B-Flourishing Families and C–Booming with Confidence.
Consumers more likely to become a Power Elite are affluent middle-aged families and couples, living active and prosperous lifestyles. These consumers have children in the household, enjoy family-oriented activities and have a high credit card usage. They also are more likely to invest for the future and are saving money for their children to attend college.
We recommend strategically targeting segments that will potentially migrate to the Power Elite segment using digital media channels like email and Streaming TV. The recommended advertising messaging should emphasize product or service quality.
Understanding the Migration of Promising Families and Young City Solos
Promising Families are young couples with children in starter homes, living child-centered lifestyles. They are savvy researchers when making buying decisions.
The study reveals that this group exhibits the most migration to other groups with more than 30% of them evolving to D-Suburban Style, B-Flourishing Families and A-Power Elite.
Since Promising Families tend to migrate towards D-Suburban Style, B-Flourishing Families and A-Power Elite, marketers should consider promoting to this group using a messaging that emphasizes benefits, such as living in a bigger home with extra space for entertainment and raising children. Media channels that resonate with this group include digital display, mobile SMS and streaming TV.
Young City Solos are younger and middle-aged singles living active and energetic lifestyles in metropolitan areas. They are organic, natural and savvy researchers who value quality when making buying decisions.
More than 20% of the Young City Solos had evolved to A-Power Elite, K-Significant Singles, and E-Thriving Boomers.
Young City Solos should be engaged via digital media and promote products or services that highlight quality experience. Since this group exhibits authentic buying styles, a marketing strategy can highlight the advantages of leasing as opposed to buying.
Summary
Since there is no “one-size-fits-all” in marketing, it is incumbent on marketers to understand the unique needs and characteristics of each consumer and devise a messaging and marketing strategy that meets those needs of the consumer segment. We recommend that marketers:
1. Know your target customers, and where they are in their life cycle.
Marketers must know who their target customer is, and where they are in his or her life cycle to be effective. Knowing this helps them understand what the consumer’s needs are, how those needs are changing, and how those needs can best be met.
2. Proactively engage targeted consumer segments prior to the lifecycle transition.
Proactive engagement builds brand awareness and creates new opportunities for marketing. Doing this before a consumer evolves in its lifecycle transition gets the consumer’s attention before a competitor, and may initiate the brand to a consumer about to experience a new need.
3. Communicate to the consumer through the right marketing channel.
Younger, more up-and-coming Mosaic Groups such as Promising Families or Young City Solos are more receptive to digital channels like mobile/SMS, digital display or streaming TV, and less so to traditional marketing channels like direct mail or newspaper. By knowing who these target consumers are and how they get their information, marketing effectiveness will be improved.