The effects of digitalization in commercial business can often be seen as a change in consumer behavior. We no longer go to the local store to see products; instead, we look for information online. We don’t even have to make a special effort to go online, since we are online most of the time anyway. Opening your phone is already enough.
Digitalization has changed the way we think about the consumer’s progress on the purchasing path, and there are new challengers for the AIDA model. The biggest search engine, Google, thinks that life consists of a chain of short moments; a purchasing path consists of these same chains. Those companies and brands who meet consumers during these micro moments win. Google’s view on consumer’s purchasing path consists of these stages: See, Think, Do and Care.
Be present during all the stages of the purchasing path
Let’s give a practical example with an imaginary character named Maija. When buying a car becomes relevant in her life, different brands have several different possibilities to direct the right messages towards her during the right moments of the purchasing path in real time.
SEE. In the awareness stage Maija searches for information online, looks through the different options and reads others’ opinions on Internet forums and social media. She might end up even watching some car-themed videos that come her way.
THINK. In the consideration stage Maija compares few car brands and models. What kind of more specific information she finds about them is critical.
- DO. Maija moves on to the purchasing stage by getting an appointment for a test drive, preferably online. After that she might send an offer request, if it’s possible to do so online.
CARE. After the purchase Maija might share positive or negative feedback on social media about her purchasing experience. Her customer satisfaction and commitment level can be raised by making her life easier, for example by offering her a mobile service for reserving an inspection and repair for her car.
You already know that Maija probably won’t buy a car brand or model that she didn’t come across online. But she might find an unknown competitor that she hadn’t even thought of before. The winner might be the brand that succeeds in encountering Maija most frequently and offers her the best service.
How can the marketer become the winner?
What does this mean for the marketer? In the digitalised world, marketing’s job is to understand the moments that are important for the consumer. With data and analytics, a digital marketer can interpret customers’ expectations and aim to meet them online in real time, at just the right stage of the purchasing path.
A brand builder in our digital time needs to manage storytelling, content, attribution and the possibilities of programmatic marketing. Data and technology are good helpers, but a marketer also needs to understand how to build the necessary indicators and analytics.
If winning in the world of digital marketing sounds challenging to do on your own, we at Redland can help you.
Working with us, you build a scenario according to the brand’s stated goals, which reoccur along the digital purchasing path, leading the customer from creating awareness all the way to the Care-stage’s service after the sale. Along the purchasing path we utilize different digital advertising and social media marketing techniques, search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, content creation, content marketing and video productions.
Contact us or request a quote and we will map out and introduce to you the solution that best supports your sales.
