• by May 7, 2002

Jupiter Media Metrix today released a report suggesting that consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketers can best use their digital marketing dollars and websites to identify and target their most loyal customers instead of consumers looking for bargains.

In segmenting online adults by their attitudes toward brands, pricing and shopping, Jupiter analysts distinguished the two most desirable segments for CPG marketers: "Brand Bonders" (25% of U.S. online adult population) who believe that the brands they use reflect their personality; and, "Brand Loyalists" (21%) who are generally unwilling to try new brands once they have found the ones they like. Although both groups are relatively affluent, "Brand Bonders" are mostly female (58%) and relatively young, while "Brand Loyalists" tend to skew older and male (60%).

Three other, yet less influential, CPG customer segments Jupiter analysts identified include: "Shopophobes" who tend to dislike shopping, "Bargain Hunters" who search for deals online and "Skeptics" who like deals, but generally do not believe in brands.

"CPG manufacturers need to start thinking about the Internet as the channel to identify their best, most loyal customers," said David Card, Jupiter vice president and research fellow. "They can best use their own websites to segment customer sets, not for couponing or information dispersal."

Understanding the "Brand Bonder"

Through attitudinal analysis, Jupiter has found that "Brand Bonders" are very busy consumers, and a relatively large number of them consider the Internet to be their favorite entertainment. Of the five segments, the "Brand Bonder" group includes the largest percentage (49%) of consumers who believe the Internet has made them more up to date on the news. Jupiter analysts advise CPG companies to take note of this statistic because it suggests that "Brand Bonders" use the Internet to gain knowledge and advantage. Web sites that enable online bill payment or couponing and sites dedicated to movies are efficient ways to reach "Brand Bonders."

"Brand Loyalists" - Best to Target, Toughest to Reach

The "Brand Loyalist" segment contains the highest proportion of men. Almost two-thirds of these consumers are over age 35, and 40% are over 45. They also comprise the most affluent segment: one-third have a household income over $75,000, and 18% have a household income over $100,000. A November 2001 Jupiter Consumer Survey reveals that over 80% of "Brand Loyalists" think consumers generally get what they pay for – and almost 50% equate quality with price. Although "Brand Loyalists" are hard to reach both online and offline, Jupiter analysts believe that these customers are worth holding onto once they've bonded to a brand because they aren't particularly price sensitive and they won't shop around. Sports sites, online brokerages and adult content sites are effective ways to target "Brand Loyalists."

Couponing

Overall, only 14% of online users say that they never use coupons when shopping online or off-line, wherever they might find them. Seventy-three percent of online users find their coupons in newspapers or magazines, and 65% get them from paper-based mail. The most prevalent online method of acquiring coupons is via e-mail from a merchant they've purchased from (21% of consumers gather coupons this way).

"When targeting the 'Brand Bonders' and 'Brand Loyalists,' CPG marketers should spend more of their Internet-focused dollars on direct marketing, advertising and sponsorship. While men appear to be slightly more driven to actively make purchases by online ads than women, an online ad has driven over one-third of online women to register at a Web site in exchange for a coupon or discount," Card said.