132 The Marketing Book
services industry. The opportunity was taken
on this occasion to examine the usefulness of an
alternative measure of innovativeness, that
proposed by Hurt et al. (1977). This scale
correlates with the KAI (Kirton, 1994) and so
we were confident in assuming that high
scorers would possess the characteristics of
Kirton’sinnovators, while low scorers would be
adaptive. Respondents also completed Zaich-
kowsky’s revised PII, revealing their involve-
ment with financial services. The results show a
remarkable pattern. Buyers of mortgages were
highly-involved adaptors; so were purchasers
of pension products. But life assurance pur-
chasers were less-involved adaptors and buy-
ers of savings and investments products were
highly-involved innovators. Clearly, even
within a broadly defined product category like
financial services, consumers vary significantly
and each segment requires its own unique
marketing approach.
Additional research on financial services
has investigated styles of cashless consump-
tion, i.e. consumers’ preferred patterns of pay-
ment card usage. Szmigin and Foxall (1998)
used the KAI to identify adaptive and innova-
tive consumers whose payment method prefer-
ences were investigated using qualitative
research methods. Four market segments
emerged. For product enthusiasts, cards have
intrinsic value; these consumers enjoy immedi-
ate consumption and find the use of payment
cards easy. They delay paying, show little
control in their purchasing, and are avid obtain-
ers and users of credit facilities. Their self-
indulgence often manifests as impulse buying.
These consumers tended to be highly-involved
adaptors.Finesserspay off their account at the
end of each month, incurring as little interest as
possible. They also use cheques and like debit
cards, have many cards and use a wide range of
payment methods. They are quick adopters of
new payment methods. These consumers were
highly-involved innovators. Controllers show
tight regulation of their financial affairs, prefer
credit to debit cards, and pay back what they
owe each month. They see little point in store
cards and look for tangible benefits from
adopting a payment method. In our research,
these consumers were predominantly less-
involved adaptors. Finally, money managersjug-
gle the use of many cards and seek the best
advantage from using each (or cash) in each
situation they encounter. They are seeking the
security of a system of payment that works
efficiently and quickly, and that is functional.
These individuals tended to be less-involved
innovators.
Once again, financial services consumers
showed several styles of consumption, each
linked to a unique pattern of cognitive style
and involvement, and requiring a special mar-
keting mix.Implications for marketing management
In order to make sense of these results, let us
ask three questions for each of the product
classes investigated: (a) Do the innovators
actually adopt more innovations? (b) What
other variables are involved in early adoption?
And (c) What are the marketing implications?
Table 6.1 summarizes the responses.
In the case of new foods, adaptors buy
most; for software applications, innovators are
the most likely to adopt most applications;
financial services present a more mixed picture.
Involvement is a crucial factor in each case and
situational variables in some. Overall, the con-
ventional wisdom is sometimes correct, but
unsophisticated, and our conclusion is that the
marketing strategies must thus be multifaceted.
But how should they be designed and
implemented?
One way of trying to make sense of
these findings is to assume that the general
involvement level engendered by the product is
all-important. Foods might be classified as
inherently low involvement items, everyday
purchases, continuous innovations. Software,
by contrast, would be highly involving, since