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In today’s tech-driven world, you are either a digital migrant or a digital native.
Digital migrants did not grow up with the Internet and digital technology, so they had to learn and adapt to a digital working style during their adult years. Digital natives, on the other hand, grew up surrounded by digital technology, making them familiar with computers and the internet from an early age.
As future generations continue to grow up around technology, digital natives will remain a massive consumer segment that will continue to increase.
Generation Z, born between 1996 and 2012, is one such generation and is expected to make up 25 percent of Asia Pacific’s population by 2025. They join the large population of digital natives, which also includes tech-savvy millennials in the workforce.1
With that in mind, your telco brand needs to dive into deeper digital native subsets that you can cater to.
In our earlier research, we uncovered four subsets of digital natives:
From these four, we decided to dive deeper into a specific subset: Digital Pioneers.
Digital Pioneers are a subset of Digital Natives characterized by high mobile data usage and deep engagement with digital activities. They actively integrate digital services into their daily lives, favoring telcos that deliver seamless, high-quality digital experiences. Unlike price-sensitive consumers, Digital Pioneers prioritize reliability, innovation, and premium service offerings, making them a valuable segment for telcos seeking to enhance customer loyalty and engagement.
These characteristics make Digital Pioneers the ideal customers for digital mobile operator brands looking to offer premium digital customer experiences and high-value mobile plans.
To better understand this segment, we conducted a market-wide study involving digitally savvy consumers aged 18-55 across four key markets: Singapore, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan.
The study highlighted the remarkable consistency among Digital Pioneers across different countries. This allows global digital telcos to take a single, tailored approach to targeting and serving digital pioneers worldwide.
From our research, Digital Pioneers can be described as optimistic, creative, knowledgeable, curious, discerning, and seeking to lead the pack:
However, they aren’t just premium first movers who adopt new tech just for the sake of it. They are:
Digital pioneers use the Internet for almost everything and can spend 4 to 10 hours a day online:
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Digital Pioneers are avid multitaskers. They often use laptops and tablets as second screens for social media or gaming in addition to their primary activities. On average, Digital Pioneers own 3.6 Internet-enabled devices, including game consoles, streaming devices, laptops, and tablets.
They are also the most likely segment to identify as gamers. Many respondents in our study owned a Nintendo Switch or PS4 and were significantly interested in purchasing a PS5. In 2023, a notable portion of this group invested in video games or game-related downloadable content (DLC).
However, being around technology also creates some tensions among digital pioneers. We compiled three of the most common tensions they brought up during the study:
This overview only scratches the surface regarding what our research uncovered about Digital Pioneers. Four distinct mindsets emerged based on how they use their phone and by their individual-social orientation:
The Sage/ Guru values being seen as an expert in their passions. They invest time and effort in acquiring and sharing knowledge and expertise in their areas of interest, such as creating and sharing short videos about these topics.
The Creative Expressionist expresses their unique personality by staying true to themselves and their artistic interests and joining like-minded online communities. They enjoy creative pursuits and care about aesthetics, want the freedom and flexibility to live a creative life, and seek to express their unique personalities daily.
The Efficient Executor believes that a planned and efficient approach to life keeps it smooth. They seek efficiency in everything they do and maintain control over their life by using technology to stay organized, minimize effort, and maximize free time.
The Diversion Seeker uses online activities to find comfort and switch off from everyday routine through diversions. They constantly seek ways to escape the daily grind and seek more balance and fulfillment but can’t always find it.
We’ll dive deeper into these mindsets in our next article. Stay tuned!
Delivering exceptional, customer-centric services and experiences is crucial for standing out in today’s competitive telco markets. Understanding your target audience—their pain points, values, and behaviors—is the foundation for providing unparalleled customer experiences.
At Circles, we’re committed to continually improving our offerings. Stay tuned for the next article, where we explore the four distinct mindsets of Digital Pioneers and how telcos can better serve this dynamic segment.
This article only provides an overview of Digital Pioneers. In the following articles in this series, we’ll explore their four unique personas—sages, Creative Expressionists, Efficient Executors, and Divert Seekers—and uncover how telcos can craft offerings tailored to these distinct mindsets.
At Circles, we’re serious about putting customers first and learning more about them to develop innovative and scalable telco customer experiences.
Interested in how our software engages this vital segment?
Sign up for a demo of our full-stack DMO software today!