Driving Miss Daisy

Knowing how to drive an automobile wasn’t required to participate in modern life during the first half of the 20th century.

Many men and women in particular were unlikely to know how to drive until mid-century.  Women’s increasing participation in the workforce during World War II, the growth of suburbs, and the new American Interstate drove near-100% participation very quickly.

Mobile today resembles the saturation turning point for automobiles after World War II in North America.  

CTIA recently reported that 91% of Americans (over 285 million) carry at least one cellphone.  Subtracting pre-schoolers, we’re close to 100% market saturation.

As described in Experian Simmons’ “American Mobile Consumer Report” this week, American mobile subscribers can be grouped by mobile usage habits:

- Social Connectors (22%) These mobile users are responsible for 600% growth in Facebook use via mobiles in 2009.  Communications with friends is crucial for this population and both social sites and text messaging are as (if not more) critical for them than voice.

- Mobirati (19%) This population grew up with cellphones and cannot conceive of life without one (or two!) mobile devices.  They use their mobile for voice, texting, alarm clock, web browsing, social media and entertainment.  Other researchers including the Pew Internet and American Life Project have noted that this segment and Social Connectors increasingly use their mobiles as their primary internet access device (vs desktop or laptop).

- Pragmatic Adopters (22%) This segment did not grow up with mobile phones, but they are learning that they are handy for more than just voice communications.  The “gateway drug” into texting for this segment is staying in touch with teenage or adult children.  Once there, these users are primed to discover mobile web browsing for sports, weather and news.

- Mobile Professionals (17%) Originally pioneered by brick-phone lugging sales professionals, this segment is now quite broad.  Frequently Mobile Professionals’ mobile device is a smartphone (typically Blackberry) provided by their employer for work use.   

- Basic Planners (20%) Behind the Pragmatic Adoptors in the learning curve, subscribers in this group only use their mobile phone for voice communications.  Note that this group numbers only 1 in 5.

With 91% penetration and only 20% using their mobile only for voice communications, mobile is truly at its turning point.  

The takeaway?  228,000,000 Americans are using their mobiles for more than just talk today.  In a few short years, use of mobile for far more than voice will be a near-universal habit.  Is your business ready to communicate, share, promote and sell via mobile?

Photo credits: “Driving Miss Daisy,” Sony Ericsson Daisy edition

*As fans of the film know, the “Miss Daisy” character does know how to drive.  She is forced to accept a chauffeur after an accident renders her “uninsurable.”