The Internet as a micro marketing tool: Targeting consumers through preferences revealed in music newsgroup usage

Recent developments in information technology have cleated new opportunities for marketers to target consumers mol-e precisely. The advent of the information superhighway, for trample, has begotten the intriguing possibility of identifying and serving very narrow segments of consumers ("micro marketing") on the basis of interests and preferences reflected in their Internet usage. In this article, the authors develop and test propositions concerning the predictive value of Usenet newsgroup usage. Results of an electronic survey show that readers of music-related newsgroups (product category) tend to be highly involved in the topic of their specific newsgroup (brand) and avid consumers of related goods/services. Moreover, for newsgroup-related products, newsgroup readership is shown to be a better predictor of purchasing patterns than standard-demographic variables. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.