Enthusiasts Steering U.S. Market

A select group of "alpha car buyers" have incredible influence over the American automotive market, according to Forrester Research, Inc. These automotive enthusiasts may not necessarily be in the market themselves all that often, but they are "clearly influential" in the buying decisions made by their friends, neighbors, and family, explained Forrester Senior Analyst Mark Dixon Bunger.

Twenty-one percent of the folks Forrester surveyed described themselves as enthusiasts, with nine percent checking the box for "strong enthusiast." The new research found these alpha buyers are far more likely to not only keep up on what is happening in the automotive market, but also to tell everyone else willing to listen. In turn, the study showed that 67 percent of North American car buyers say advice from friends is somewhat to very important in their own purchase decision.

Alpha car buyers are not only interested in autos but are, in general, what can be called "technology optimists," said analyst Bunger. They are far more likely to go to automotive Web sites than the general car-buying public. While they are less sensitive to vehicle price, alphas are also more savvy about how to find the best incentives and other deals. Since Alphas are the source of much of the buzz about the market's hottest products, savvy automakers "have to get good at spotting these alphas," emphasized Bunger. Chrysler Group marketing guru Julie Roehm agreed, adding that talking "to this category of buyer is important to us in terms of (influencing) taste-makers and trend-setters."

Incidentally, one surprise uncovered by the Forrester study was the fact that enthusiasts can be found in just about every demographic category, age, income, education, marital status. The big exception is gender. Only 26 percent of those who categorized themselves as enthusiasts were female - 11 percent of all those surveyed. But Bunger said he suspects that number has likely been growing over the years.

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