By Andrew Grenville, Chief Research Officer – Vision Critical
As technological advances create a growing enticement to consumers, the level of integration that people subscribe to with gadgets and inventions becomes increasingly interesting – and segmented. A recent international survey on technology adoption has identified four technological people groups: The Techno Elites, The Technology Challenged, The Pragmatic Users, and The Techno Snails. All four segments have been identified and profiled, complete with video interviews, in Vision Critical’s Technology Segmentation Study.
The segments differ in how imbedded technology is in their lives, as well as when and how they adopt and use technology. Understanding how technology is intertwined in people’s lives is vitally important because it uncovers untapped opportunities for good product design to increase sales.
“Emotional Design” is an influential book by cognitive scientist turned designer, Donald Norman. In the book, Norman discusses his theory of 3 levels of design appeal—a theory that comes to life in our segmentation. His theory holds that design appeals to us on:
- The Visceral Level – wherein we respond mostly to appearances, and leads to that ‘object lust’ that some people get when they see a new iPhone or television set.
- The Behavioral Level – which is where usability comes into play, and which answers the question: “can I master this? Does it seem useful?”
- The Reflexive Level – which is tied up with issues of identity, self-worth and intellectual appeal. “Do I want to be associated with this product? Do I feel good about owning it? Can I tell stories about it and impress others?”
TECHNOLOGY SEGMENTATIONS:
Techno Elites: Technology is an inexorable part of the fabric of the life and breath of over 120 million people in the US, UK and Canada. “It completes me” is a perfect summary of how the Techno Elite feels. The form and function of the technology become one with them. They can’t imagine life without it. And they believe what they own and use tells you something about them. If they are not cyborgs already—man-machine combinations—they’re already well on their way.
The Technology Challenged: Highlight the failure of design to work optimally for them. They feel technology “completes” them and they can’t imagine life without it. But they struggle with the technology—both in understanding it and staying up to date. Clearly there is a design failure here. And where there is failure, there is opportunity. Companies that can design products that delight the Technology Challenged will win big.
The Pragmatic Users: Have not been so seduced by current technology design. Technology remains a tool to them, something outside their sense of self and something they can live without. Whether or not designs can be improved enough to ever fully appeal to these people is an open question. But it is well worth exploring, because the opportunity is large.
The Techno Snails: Well, I think we’ll be waiting a long time for them to catch up, no matter how good the design.
Learn more about Vision Critical’s capabilities in Technology and Segmentation:
Readings
- Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things, by Donald Norman, Basic Books, 2004
- Glimmer: how design can transform your life, your business, and maybe even the world, by Warren Berger, Random House Canada, 2009
