Why You Need To Re-evaluate How You Are Marketing To Consumers
It’s not news the Internet has changed the buyer behavior, empowering them with more and more information at the tip of their fingers. Consumers are ultimately in control of what, how, when and where they peruse content. Constant connectivity, contextual relevance and a multi-screen world are changing both online and offline shopping, and because of this, consumers no longer see a distinction between the two.
Whether you operate under a B2B or B2C, consumers have changed the way in which they decide to buy a product or use a service. To adapt to the competitive new reality, marketing departments need to take into account the reasons why consumers have changed over the years and how they can join in on this revolution in order to stay relevant.
Here are 3 ways consumers have irreversibly changed their buying behaviors both offline and online:
1. Consumers rely on trusted sources for information
It’s no longer enough to simply have a description about a product or service and expect a consumer to have full faith in what they are purchasing. Marketing to consumers relies heavily on providing accurate and trustworthy information. Be sure that your website maintains information that is absolutely correct. You’d be surprised by how many organizations provide false information, or rather, provide too little of it. A consumer will devote more time and effort to research a product or service that is of higher price to ensure they are making the right purchasing decision. The more information, the better!
At the same time, consumers are also not trusting the claims made in ads, and instead are resorting to reviews, comments and recommendations from other users. A savvy consumer is looking for clues from others, so the more your product/service is mentioned throughout the web, the better your chances are of getting a reputable presence.
2. Consumers search rather than navigate
Let’s say you wanted to search for Nike sneakers on Ebay. To conduct this search there are 1 of 2 ways you could go about doing it. The first, you could click “Fashion” → “Shoes” → “Womens” → “Athletic” and FINALLY “Nike.” Or, you could avoid all of that nonsense and simply type “Women’s Nike sneakers” into the search bar. I think it's relatively safe to assume you would choose option number 2. This trend toward searching rather than navigating is more beneficial because it is faster, more efficient and in the user’s own terms.
Consumers use different words to describe the same thing or the same word to mean different things - therefore, a word in a menu navigation may not be interpreted the same by everyone. With search, it all becomes moot. Users can search in their own words and find exactly what it is they are looking for.
3. Consumers want immediate information
Just as modern consumers don’t have the patience to figure out a site’s menu navigation, they are also impatient when it comes to finding information. For example, if you and a co-worker are looking for a good Italian restaurant after work, you wouldn’t go home, log into your PC and search for the perfect spot. Instead, you would whip out your smartphone, open up your search engine and plug in “Italian restaurants.” The “real-time-ness” of information is all around us, whether its social media updates, newscasts or GPS recommendations, it is infused into almost every area of consumer life. Therefore, marketing to consumers needs to be accessible immediately or else your business may just lose a potential customer.
Now, take a minute and rethink your business strategy. Are you providing these three sources? At the end of the day, the way consumers are evolving boils down to mobile search. Think about it. Without mobile search, users would still be logging into their PC from inside their homes. This goes to show just how undeniably crucial it is to make sure your brand’s presence is optimized for mobile search and has a responsive mobile design.
If you aren’t speaking to your audience the way they want to be spoken to and providing this information where they want to find it, then you are sorely missing out. Marketing is all about transitioning with your consumers so you can ensure you are reaching them efficiently.
To move further in this direction, on April 21st, Google will be releasing their latest update which will no longer rank websites unless they are mobile-friendly. Consumers are searching for answers to their problems via their PHONE. This will ultimately become a huge dilemma for your business if your website does not have a mobile responsive design. So, are you ready to take the next step? Download our free Google Update Guide and we will get you well on your way.
