There’s been an interesting topic under discussion for the last week or so at the Harvard Business blog. It all started with an article about The Super-Consumer by Eddie Yoon of The Cambridge Group, noting that:

In any product category, roughly 10% of the consumers account for more than 50% of the profits. These super-consumers, as we call them, are the hot dog buyers who eat five pounds of hot dogs a month, wolfing down as many as 4 per sitting. They are the stapler users who own 8 different staplers. They know what they want, they’ll buy a lot of it, and they’ll pay a premium for it. They’re passionate and engaged — sometimes even a little obsessive — and they exist in every category, from soft drinks and air travel to fast-food and oral care products.

Many managers assume that their super-consumers are a unique species whose extreme appetites say little about what more casual consumers might go for. They also figure that their super-consumers are already sated, so there’s no point in probing them further. That’s a mistake.

We’ve found that companies that listen to their super-consumers and use their insights to refine their message ultimately grow sales and margins across all segments. These companies aren’t trying to convert light users into heavy users. Rather, they’re figuring out what it is the super-consumers like so much and then offering it to them. Invariably, acting on the insights from those consumers who spend disproportionate time and energy in the category uncovers insights and innovations that encourage trade-up behaviors across other segments as well.

In any product category, roughly 10% of the consumers account for more than 50% of the profits. These super-consumers, as we call them, are the hot dog buyers who eat five pounds of hot dogs a month, wolfing down as many as 4 per sitting. They are the stapler users who own 8 different staplers. They know what they want, they’ll buy a lot of it, and they’ll pay a premium for it. They’re passionate and engaged — sometimes even a little obsessive — and they exist in every category, from soft drinks and air travel to fast-food and oral care products.

Many managers assume that their super-consumers are a unique species whose extreme appetites say little about what more casual consumers might go for. They also figure that their super-consumers are already sated, so there’s no point in probing them further. That’s a mistake.

We’ve found that companies that listen to their super-consumers and use their insights to refine their message ultimately grow sales and margins across all segments. These companies aren’t trying to convert light users into heavy users. Rather, they’re figuring out what it is the super-consumers like so much and then offering it to them. Invariably, acting on the insights from those consumers who spend disproportionate time and energy in the category uncovers insights and innovations that encourage trade-up behaviors across other segments as well.

The blog article went on to outline a couple of case studies where listening to (and interrogating) the super consumers led to useful insights that drove substantial sales increases across all types of consumers, not just the supers.

The article has since attracted a number of comments which question whether the super-consumers are necessarily the best people from whom to learn.

Thom Mitchell made these points:

… sometimes listening to your best customers can create blind spots. Your best customers by definition already love you the most among all of your customers. Sure implementing some of their incremental suggestions will improve products and most likely sales, but what about all of those customers who only buy your product occasionally?

Imagine what might happen when you find out why some customers only buy your products once in a while – why don’t they buy your product more often? Are you the second choice on the shelf? Are you considered too expensive? Too cheap? Significant long-term growth can result from turning those infrequent customers into regular purchasers and then growing them into power purchasers.

To his credit, blog author Eddie Yoon acknowledged and built on Thom’s comments:

sometimes listening to your brand’s best customers can indeed leave you with blind spots and a false sense of security. There is a clarification that can help mitigate this risk.

There is a difference between BRAND super consumers and CATEGORY super consumers. Brand super consumers can be loyal for many personal reasons that may not be broadly relevant. A person might have grown up on the brand…they had an initial good experience, became habituated to it/on auto pilot (e.g., a Coke super consumer from Atlanta). Or sometimes a consumer is a brand super consumer because they’re not making the brand decision (e.g., an American Airlines super consumer whose company only flies American Airlines)

However, category super consumers are typically only loyal to a brand that truly provides superior benefits. They have tried every brand…even private label. They are early adopters of new products and active seekers of new information to see if there is anything better than what they have now. As a result, category super consumers are often the smartest, most articulate and most opinionated people you can find. Most clients are shocked to find out how much they actually know about their products and by how painfully honest they can be about their products and services.

You are exactly right that talking to medium and light users and finding ways to make them more frequent users is a huge growth opportunity. That said, you want to avoid talking to folks who are medium/light users of your brand, because they are medium/light users of the category. You likely won’t learn much from them…other than you need to drop your price!

Finding people who are category super consumers and medium/light users of your brand is where the magic can happen. Just brace yourself because it can be like eating your veggies…you may not like it, but it is good for you in the long run.

Another contributor, Judd Murphy, took us from the theoretical to the very real with his comments:

As the owner and manager of a small, casual sandwich shop, I have gotten to know our super-consumers. A handful of customers that visit us nearly every day, and from a revenue standpoint, they are really valuable.

We have found, however, that there is a subcategory of super-consumers that bring in new friends all the time. These super-consumers are a key to future growth because they are out promoting the restaurant and driving people through our doors. That’s the kind of promotion that no amount of advertising investment can buy. It really is a thrill and an honor to have these types of customers promoting your business.

All in all, the whole discussion chain not only enriched and expanded on the original article — it also demonstrated (in low-key fashion) the true power of Web 2.0. Sometimes high-profile discussions via Facebook and Twitter are the best way to make an impact; more and more often, however, the best use of online interaction lies in discussion threads that expand all our knowledge and understanding.

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Tags: commenting, discussions, super-consumers, Web 2.0