Your audience isn't one-dimensional
With billions of people continuing to spend time at home, the routines, needs, and priorities of the average consumer have evolved to fit the new world we live in today. While some businesses continue to persevere through the impact of COVID-19, others struggle to keep busy, but how are businesses expected to adapt to the new normal when living through a wildly different experience?
Factoring in user experience, one question worth asking is what are potential audiences looking for and how can we reach them at a moment that matters most?
According to Google, marketers risk missing out on more than 70% of potential mobile shoppers when relying on demographic data alone. Think about the last time you used your phone to find an answer or help make a decision. When someone has a want or a need, people often turn to search and YouTube for answers, but how can brands combat data short-sightedness and influence online sales while improving the likelihood of achieving sustainable growth?
The Micro-Moment
As defined by Google, a “micro-moment occurs when people reflexively turn to a device—increasingly a smartphone—to act on a need to learn something, do something, discover something, watch something, or buy something.”
Thanks to mobile, these intent-rich moments can happen anytime, anywhere. During these times, customers rely on brands to deliver on their needs which makes the purchase funnel tremendously more complicated for marketers compared to what it was less than a decade ago. Thankfully Programmatic marketing makes it possible to deliver relevant ads to consumers, at the right time, across the millions of sites, apps, and videos they consume. However, resonating with modern audiences is still very much a moving target.
Comprehending Consumer Culture
Thanks to mobile, modern consumers get what they want when they want it and as a result, consumers have grown more curious, demanding, and impatient. Utilizing the ability to leverage data to anticipate consumer asks is a key practice that will define a brand's ability to grow. There are three main consumer behaviours to closely consider: The Research Obsessed, The Demander, and The Impatient ones.
The Research Obsessed
With unbridled access to unlimited information, consumers are taking the time to research before making decisions, making each choice an informed one. According to Google Data, 85% of people will take action by reading reviews and comparing prices within 24 hours of discovering a product. This means that marketers must shift their focus from averages to individuals to find ways to answer whatever query may arise. Meeting consumer expectations throughout the purchase journey will also contribute to building brand loyalty.
The Demander
Digitalization has inarguably changed the way we consume media making it harder to achieve wide exposure to a large audience at once. Today, brands and marketers must decipher the best method of reaching their target audience by considering the media that they consume.
People expect brands to acknowledge their intent, which again means marketers must provide these demanding consumers with the correct information at the correct time. The demands can often be met through a strong online presence. The best way to grow your brand is to discover what your customers want and make it extremely easy for them to get it. Consider answering the following common queries for your next Search Campaign to assist customers throughout their entire journey:
- "___ near me" (location) searches
- "Can I buy ___" (product/service) searches
- "___ to buy" searches
- "___ for me" searches
- "can I ___" searches
The Impatient Ones
With the assistance of mobile, today's consumers are making decisions faster than ever before. This means that marketers need to shift their strategies to keep pace. While technology keeps advancing and customer expectations continue to rise, 87% of smartphone owners turn to search first in a moment of need and expect the right results in real-time. Consider how your business can address the needs of the impatient consumer by answering the following commonly searched questions:
- "___ open near me now" searches
- "___ near me now" searches
- "___ wait times" searches
- "tonight/today" related searches
Identifying the moments that matter
As media allocation diversifies across more and more channels, brands must make fast and knowledgeable decisions to gain a competitive advantage. The first step to managing micro-moments is to anticipate when these moments can occur and commit to being there when they do. Have you ever turned to your phone for an urgent need such as a stores’ operating hours or directions? Have you read product reviews or looked for better prices while in-store? Or have you ever placed an order for pick-up just to skip out on the line? Accounting for every-day scenarios that your target is likely to encounter can help increase the chances of communicating with a potential buyer when it counts the most.
(Source) Mobile search & video behaviour analysis, Millward Brown Digital, U.S., January-June 2015
While demographic data still plays a considerable role in the marketing playbook, the first step to getting to know your audience begins with understanding and responding to intent along with appealing to context and immediacy. Comprehending the correlation between search queries as intention and video views as an action provides brands with the opportunity to communicate with potential shoppers by delivering relevant content. Consider what your audience may be searching for, ask yourself:
- What does my audience want to know? (Additional information, reviews, etc.)
- What does my audience want to buy? (Coupons, comparing prices, etc.)
- What does my audience want to do? (How-to’s, planners, etc.)
- When and Where does my audience want to go? (___ Near me, Directions, etc.)
Everything Considered
To make your consumers feel more empowered to take action, keep simplicity in mind to ensure that your brand has the opportunity to address customer needs at the perfect time to help organically move your consumers down the funnel.
Channel choice and investment decisions have become critical for marketers and media buyers, so take the time to get to know your audience before risking everything on the success of one medium. Leverage programmatic marketing to deliver relevant ads to the right consumers at the right time.
For help with your next programmatic marketing campaign, you can count on Hotspex Media to apply insights, optimizations, and make your programmatic advertising work as hard as you do. Hotspex Media is a full-service integrated digital advertising and market research company for brands and agencies. Contact us today to learn how you can utilize technology & behavioural science to drive insights and directly address your business and marketing objectives.
