Superconsumers

1. Superconsumers: The Key to Sustainable Growth

I’ve found that managers who fully embrace a superconsumer strategy, such as the office-supply manufacturer in the story above, learn more from their consumers through increased empathy.

Defining Superconsumers. Superconsumers are not just heavy users; they are passionate, highly engaged, and even obsessive about a particular category. They are emotional buyers who base their purchase decisions on life aspirations, not just functional needs. Unlike heavy users, superconsumers are defined by their attitude and engagement, not just the quantity of their purchases.

The Superconsumer Advantage. Although they typically represent only about 10% of a product's consumer base, superconsumers can drive between 30% and 70% of sales and an even greater share of category profit. They are also less price-sensitive and more predictable than other consumers, making them a valuable target for growth strategies. Companies are becoming increasingly adept at identifying and engaging superconsumers, leading to better innovation and increased sales.

A North Star. Superconsumers offer clarity and direction for businesses, helping them make better strategic decisions and achieve more stable, predictable, and longer-term growth. By focusing on these passionate customers, companies can tailor their decision-making, coordinate investments, and innovate to meet their specific needs. This approach can lead to simple, superior, and sustainable growth.

2. Unlocking Insights: Understanding Superconsumer Motivations

Motivations are great because they are wildly variable across consumers.

Emotional Variance. Consumer motivations are diverse and often polarizing, ranging from casual preferences to deeply personal values. Understanding these motivations is crucial for targeting and focusing marketing efforts, leading to higher ROI and better growth. Polarized feelings lead to distinct behaviors, enabling targeted and focused strategies.

Data-Driven Insights. By integrating key motivations into data analysis, businesses can gain a unique understanding of consumer behavior. This data set, which blends motivational and behavioral data, is invaluable for predicting sales and identifying opportunities for growth. Emotional engagement is a stronger predictor of higher sales than demographics or socioeconomic measures.

Predictability and Stability. Superconsumers are more predictable than other consumers because their behaviors are driven by deep emotions and motivations rather than demographics or socioeconomics. This stability improves forecasting and allows businesses to count on their continued loyalty. As long as you treat them well and offer them what they want, you can count on them to keep coming back for more.

3. Simple, Speedy Strategies: Learning from Great Snacks' Success

It was not an either-or strategy but a both-and one.

Finding Passion. Brands should focus on finding and embracing existing passion rather than trying to create it where it doesn't exist. Brands that prioritize passion first, then profit, through superconsumers, can engage emotionally with consumers without compromising profitability. This approach allows for a more authentic and sustainable connection.

Overlooked Value. Some brands are consistently undervalued due to perception rather than reality. This often happens because managers are too far removed from their consumers and lack empathy. To overcome this, leaders should engage with superconsumers directly to understand their perspectives and experiences.

Curiosity and Inclusivity. Successful leaders are driven by an abundance of questions, not answers. They wonder about the epiphanies in others and seek to understand why superconsumers behave the way they do. By adopting a both-and mindset, brands can see opportunities for growth even in areas that may seem unconventional or off-trend.

4. Breaking the Rules: How Easy Grocery Premiumized Private Labels

Easy Grocery inverted this logic and created higher-quality premium private-label brands at higher prices than many mainstream products, which was a stretch for a chain that wasn’t playing in the high end of the market.

Premiumization is Possible. Value or mainstream brands can successfully compete in premium segments by delivering benefits that exceed the product's price. By understanding unmet needs through superconsumers, brands can offer products that are both fair in price and exceed the cost to deliver. This approach allows any company to play in nearly any price tier.

Smarter Risk-Taking. Superconsumers can significantly decrease the cost of failure by providing rapid feedback and insights. This allows companies to test, learn, and improve products quickly, reducing the need for extensive pre-launch planning. Under Armour and Keurig are examples of companies that perfected their products with superconsumer input.

Encouraging Rule-Breaking. Some conventional wisdom is based on outdated assumptions. By identifying rules that create new opportunities when broken as a group, companies can achieve significant success. Overcoming one consumer hurdle by solving another relevant hurdle, known as barrier bartering, can also lead to innovative solutions.

5. Category Creation: The American Girl Story

Stories of hardship, struggle, and yearning are what I most appreciated about American Girl.

Quests vs. Jobs. Consumers hire brands for a job, but superconsumers hire multiple brands for multiple jobs to solve a quest. Understanding these quests enables breakthrough innovations in product offerings. American Girl successfully combined toys, multimedia entertainment, and education to create a new category.

Super Geos. Multiple superconsumers near one another create super geos, where their passion spreads like a virus. These super geos are the primordial soup where demand forms and categories can grow. Technology, especially social media, allows super geos to be based on mutual interests and common life stages.

Breakthrough Innovation. Successfully creating a new category requires both breakthrough product innovation and breakthrough business-model innovation simultaneously. Companies that innovate only on the product side may not sustain their innovation over time. American Girl achieved success by innovating in both its product offerings and its retail experience.

6. FUEL Framework: Building Relationships with Superconsumers

You don’t own your business. Your customers do.

The FUEL Framework. This framework outlines four steps for building relationships with superconsumers for profitable growth: Find, Understand, Engage, and Lean In. Each step is crucial for maximizing revenue and fostering long-term loyalty. The framework helps businesses connect with their most passionate customers and leverage their insights.

Finding and Understanding. Finding superconsumers involves identifying them through data, within your team, and among your family and friends. Understanding them requires relating to them rationally, emotionally, contextually, and culturally. This deep understanding allows businesses to tailor their strategies to meet the specific needs and desires of superconsumers.

Engaging and Leaning In. Engaging superconsumers means having empathy for their passion and understanding your role in contributing to their joy and pain. Leaning in involves seeking out how superconsumers have fun with your category, understanding its challenges, and being generous in providing value. By following these steps, businesses can build strong, lasting relationships with their most valuable customers.

7. Beyond Superconsumers: Influencing Other Consumer Segments

The key is to take stock of the state of your business now.

Targeting Different Segments. Once you build relationships with superconsumers, you can use that knowledge to influence other consumer segments: potential superconsumers, autopilots, and uninvolved consumers. Each segment requires a different approach based on their level of passion and spending. Understanding these segments allows for more effective marketing and innovation strategies.

The Fun-to-Chore Ratio. Every category represents varying levels of fun and chores to consumers. By improving the fun-to-chore ratio, businesses can appeal to a wider range of consumers. Superconsumers can provide insights into how to make products and experiences more enjoyable and less burdensome.

Strategies for Influence. To influence potential superconsumers, focus on education and alleviating fears. For autopilots, reduce chores and improve convenience. To unlock the latent demand of the uninvolved, reinvent the fun-to-chore ratio with significant innovation. By tailoring strategies to each segment, businesses can maximize their reach and impact.

8. Building a Superconsumer-Centric Culture

The key is to look beyond everyday marketing issues and creatively listening to your superconsumers.

Internal Superconsumers. Encourage superconsumers within your organization to share their passion and insights. These employees can inject energy, empathy, and creativity into the company culture. By empowering these internal superconsumers, businesses can foster a more innovative and customer-focused environment.

Energy, Empathy, and Creativity. A superconsumer-centric culture fosters energy, empathy, and creativity throughout the organization. This leads to increased labor productivity, improved customer satisfaction, and innovative solutions. By valuing and leveraging the passion of employees, businesses can create a more engaged and successful workforce.

Leadership and Alignment. To build a superconsumer-centric culture, leaders must share superconsumer data, involve stakeholders in discussions, and establish guiding principles. By boiling down the strategy to a simple statement and repeating it often, leaders can ensure that everyone in the organization is aligned and working toward the same goal. This alignment is crucial for long-term success.

Last updated: April 16, 2025