Tech Evangelist Customers Key to Mobile App Success
Looking to make a splash with a mobile app? Some customers are better than others.
A study released this week by IDC, based on a survey of 50,000 consumers in 25 countries, segmented app buyers into six groups. IDC's segments include Tech Evangelists, Impulse Buyers, Experimental Adopters, Pragmatic Purchasers, Green Buyers and Disengaged Functionalists.
Will this taxonomy have the lasting power of Geoffrey Moore's categories from the tech marketing classic Crossing the Chasm? Probably not, but unsurprisingly, IDC identifies Tech Evangelists, like Moore's Early Adopters, as the key demographic. (Still, I find myself intrigued by the Disengaged Functionalists.)
"Tech evangelists not only own the most devices and utilize the most advanced functions, features and apps, they are also the group that drives adoption of device ownership and usage by other market segments," said IDC analyst Michael DeHart in a statement describing the research. "In terms of formulating a strategy for the prioritization of app development and marketing, focusing on Tech Evangelists' download and usage of apps will deliver the largest ROI by far in terms of segment-based app development and marketing."
In other survey results, IDC reported that free apps make up 85 percent of total app downloads, and the most prolific app downloaders (both free and paid) by country are South Korea followed by Sweden and the United States.
Posted by Scott Bekker on January 24, 2012 at 11:58 AM