Reading every word of the fine print, laboriously sifting through shills and spam, participating in forums, checking Consumer Reports, and finally reporting their findings to the world; the maven is a type of consumer that does the hard work so you don’t have to. The maven is largely motivated by the virtuous quest for truth, and feels an obligation to share what they find with the rest of us; they do this while asking for very little in return. Often a pat-on-the-back or tip-of-the-hat will do. Mavens are somewhat rare, but their efforts are widely amplified, because of their influence in the world of shopping.
Do you know a maven? Likely you do, as pointed out by Linda Price, 60% of Americans claim to know a maven who offers them advice on consumer products. Because of mavens’ disproportionate influence on the marketplace, economists, marketers, and manufacturers pay special attention to this group. The thinking is “If I can sell to the maven, in effect, I can sell to everyone.” This, however, is easier said than done.
The importance of principle-based shopping decisions
Consumers are largely motivated by one of three forces when deciding about a potential purchase: 1) principles (“Is this the right fit for me?”), 2) status (“What will my friends think?”), and 3) action (“I can’t wait to use it”). The maven is a type of consumer that is predominantly motivated by the first factor. They tend to make choices about products on an intellectual basis; that is, based on the particular characteristics, specifications, and features of the product. “I choose the iRiver clix because of its durability, and video playback feature; making it a better choice than the iPod Nano”. Status-oriented decision makers concern themselves with how they will be perceived by others. “I have to have the Nano because it looks so cool, and I’ll be the envy of all my friends.”
Marketers know the difference, and it is obvious what motivations they are catering to in their commercials. Take for example, this iPod commercial:
What aspect of iPod are they selling, exactly? Definitely not its storage capacity or its small size. Compare this to a 1984 commercial for the Apple IIc computer:
They actually talk about the product! They mention its hardware, accessories, functionality, and its price in under 30 seconds. Depending on your personality, one of these commercials will be more appealing to you.
You may ask: “What difference does it make why I buy a product? How does it make the world worse if I buy something that makes me more popular?” But that’s just it, what you buy does make a difference. Every dollar you spend is like a vote for that product, and companies are counting these votes. The goal of manufacturers like Toyota, Sony, Nike, and Apple is to design products that generate the most revenue. It’s really not that complicated, companies try to make stuff that people want to buy. If you want to buy crap, they will continue to make crap.
Now, if all consumers made choices based on the principles of quality, value, and even environmental reasons rather than succumb to the outside pressures of marketing and peer groups, over time the products hitting the market reflect the choices made by consumers, and, thus, get better.
ProductWiki maven Infomaniac was asked why she buys products on a principle-oriented, intellectual basis, and responded: “It is very important for me to buy products based on the features and specifications, especially on electronic and technology items because I want to know what I am buying and if it can meet my needs. Value becomes important because I want to make sure I am getting what has been advertised or raved about a product and not the slim down version. I would rather pay top dollar to get the item that best suits my needs than going for the lowest price only to find it doesn’t live up to the product hype.”
But, why isn't everyone oblivious to the hype?
Generation Y and the economics of identity
The concept of cool is not new, but it seems that popularity is more important that ever. It has become increasingly important that you assert your identity and that it stands up to the criticism of your peers. There are two major trends that have contributed to this phenomenon. 1) The current media obsession with "celebrity" is most obvious with the almost never-ending supply of reality TV shows that promise to make anyone into a celebrity (albeit for a very short time frame), and 2) the explosion of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook in the youth culture.
According to Forrester Research, in a given month, 62% of youths (aged 12-21) use social networking sites, compared to only 18% of adults. Conversely, only 13% of these youths research products online, whereas 37% of adults used the Internet to read product reviews. Do these statistics imply a trend towards status-based consumer choices by the youth culture, or is it simply a matter that of kids not buying as much stuff that needs to be researched?
When a ProductWiki maven was asked if they find that more weight is placed on buying products based on how they make you feel versus an intellectual, feature-based choice, KD1964 said she'd have to agree:
“I believe my generation falls into the small luxuries subculture- shallower, narcissistic and into frivolous luxuries (iPods, digital cameras, designer shoes/bags, Starbucks and labels). In that materialism will make you happy by being perceived a certain way by others. I also believe that America is a youth culture. We place so much emphasis on being young, looking young, idolizing young women and men in the media. We are bombarded with advertisements and role models in the media that we are supposed to aspire, but the message is that we are never good enough. In magazines, catalogs, commercials and magazine ads show the idyllic lifestyle of the rich and the models are skinny, so if you buy into a particular product one is buying into a status symbol, conforming to a particular stereotype (lack of a better word), aspiring to be a role model portrayed in the media and buying false hope of being prettier, cooler, skinnier, younger, richer, etc. ”
So is society on a trend towards more frivolous, less-informed purchasing decisions? If so, how do we reverse it?
Mavens of the world unite!
If you've ever done any online shopping, it's becoming more and more obvious that affiliate spam and the number of product shills have made the role of the maven in society even more important. With the death of Epinions , you have to wonder if the effect of mavens is lessening. I think it's only temporary. We need mavens to sort through the marketing speak, the shills, and the spammers. Although mavens will continue to do their due-diligence and share their findings with the world, but it’s up to you to decide if they’re worth listening to.
