We are increasingly living in an always on, always connected world, as individuals across the globe embrace a digital lifestyle and increasingly become ‘connected consumers’.
Not bound by age, the connected consumer shares an affinity for technology and is always ‘on’. They live in a world of perpetual information search, which is both burdening and empowering. This perpetual information search may be conscious (searching for product information to make an informed decision), or subconscious (reading Facebook status updates). The result is a more knowledgeable consumer with larger networks and influences.
In order for marketers to effectively and meaningfully reach the consumer, they must understand their customers’ needs, expectations and behaviours. One way of navigating this world of preferences and connectedness is to explore how customers make their decisions.
By understanding this, businesses will be able to clarify how and where consumers shape their purchase decisions and share their experiences; before, at the point of purchase, during and after the purchase. The result will be a much more focused internal effort, providing the best use of time and money to support the customer at each stage of their journey with the right technology, content, people, communities and resources.
The consumer decision-making process
The consumer decision-making process has been a founding theory in academia and consumer behavior, the first being published as early as 1978. Traditionally the process is depicted as a five-stage process: need recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase and post-purchase.
There are clear criticisms with this traditional view of the customer decision-making process and in recent years other models of a circular nature have emerged.
McKinsey and Company and The Altimeter Group have published their own models of the customer journey in the connected world. However, while being more sympathetic to the behaviours of connected consumers, they still miss stages of the decision making process and depict a ‘perfect world’ scenario.
The new customer purchase journey
The truth is that during the purchase journey the customer may be conducting multiple searches for multiple product categories and may fall out of the process at any point – they don’t always create a loyalty loop. However, through understanding what the customer information and experience needs are at each stage, marketers can provide valuable content and experiences to support the customer journey.
For example, in travel purchases. Dr Jillian Ney’s research has found that social networking sites are mostly used post consumption. Post purchase search is predominantly conducted around aggregator sites and consumer reviews, thus having a profound impact on the types of information that support the purchase decision. In that, they are generally not owned or controlled by the brand.
In an age where social media is being integrated into a brand’s marketing strategy, knowing what stage of the customer purchase journey it supports is central to successful strategy development.
Dr Jillian’s customer purchase journey model also has a dual purpose; to explore the points where the customer can participate in the co-creation of brand messages and value creation during their purchase journey. These interactions can then trigger and influence other consumers who embark on a similar journey.
The question is: do you know your customers purchase journey?
Dr Jillian’s forthcoming webinar on Tuesday, 19th November 2013, ‘Leading Organisations Through Customer Engagement: Why Social Media Matters’, will explore the new customer journey process and discuss how leaders can transform social media engagement from campaign led engagement to a sustainable business practice.
For more information simply click the above image or enter your details below to register.
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