Segmentation: A Simple Strategy

Weird fact about me: the different foods on my plate can’t touch each other.  My older sister once bought me divided plates as a joke and I now use them regularly.  I honestly think they are one of the best gifts I’ve ever been given.

It turns out that the majority of the population (especially millennials) feels the same way about their mobile consumption.

Native apps are dominating mobile usage –a recent Flurry study found that apps captured 86% of consumers’ average daily internet time spent on smartphones and tablets. That’s up from the 80% share noted in a similar study last year!

Millennials download more apps than any other generation – each one occupying its singular space on their screens much like my dinner plate. They use music, media, and entertainment apps, as well as sports, health and fitness apps, approximately 75% more frequently than other age groups and use lifestyle, shopping, social and photo sharing apps nearly 20% more than other generations.

Many digital experts are baffled by why people, including millennials, are turning away from the browser and relying on applications instead.  Here’s my answer:  We are living in the Google era.  White space, cleanliness, usefulness, and most of all simplicity is at the heart of success.

Take a look at Google’s homepage:

Now take a look at Yahoo’s:

My point exactly.

Native apps are singular in their focus and usually serve a singular purpose. A website typically has a broad focus – from blogs, to promotions, to business information and, of course, shopping.  We don’t want our content, services and distractions to overlap or even touch each other on our plates!

Who needs a web browser anyway – Love? There’s an app for that, be it Tinder, OkCupid, or Hinge (among many others).

Weight loss? There’s an app for that too: Lose It! and Diet Point have gained rapidly in popularity in the past year alone.

Better gum health? There’s even an app for that!  It’s called Toothbrush Fitness. The list goes on and on.

Anyone who relies on reaching out to users should be paying attention to the population’s preference for apps and develop a strategy around it.  Here’s to the “simple life”, where “less” appears to be “more” and it’s easier to satisfy and even overwhelm people’s needs and expectations by appearing to underwhelm them.