• by Aaron Baar , January 2, 2010

Technology and electronics marketers may want to begin 2010 targeting a small but influential group of consumers who have some undue weight when it comes to influencing the purchases of others.

According to David Krajicek, managing director of technology with GfK Custom Research North America, this group of "techfluentials" is made up of highly connected individuals (indexing mostly under 30) who like to share their opinions about products that make their lives easier.

These techfluentials are looking for solutions that will make their lives easier, particularly in a tech-forward professional world where many are multitasking and working toward advancing their professional careers. "For Marketing Mavens, it's all about themselves -- that personal drive to be first," Krajicek says. "For techfluentials, it's about these products serving a purpose for them."

Given the connected nature of today's media, the way to reach these techfluentials is through an online and/or mobile strategy. "It all starts with online because of the on-demand nature of media," he says. "It's all about pushing out to them, because if you wait [for the message] to reach them passively, it won't get there."

But the message must be presented in a way that is relevant to how a product or brand can make their lives easier in tangible ways. The practical and technological benefits must be touted as much as any emotive benefits a marketer may be trying to convey, Krajicek says. This is particularly important for entrenched brands that have a solid identity, but may not be as relevant to a younger consumer who doesn't view them as state of the art.

"Some old brands are becoming 'have-nots' because they may be associated with quality, but are not seen as being on the cutting edge," Krajicek says. "You need to make yourselves re-relevant for this group."