Adapting Digital Marketing To Customer Moments

Consumers Are Changing

With the world of consumer behavior evolving, this year was an important tipping point towards mobile device usage. According to Google, more than 51% of all online searches are now conducted through mobile devices, and 87% of all users turn to their mobile devices first when they need to get tasks done. At any given moment, consumers are closer than ever to the decision-making process in making purchases.

Mission Disrupt recently held a Google Partner event where we explored succeeding in the mobile universe. The mission (no pun intended) of the event was to educate a broad range of professionals on how to best target mobile smartphone users, and we learned some valuable lessons.

Moments, Insight, Action

Searches online are driven by spur of the moment wants or needs by consumers. Billions of online searches can be categorized into four segments that Google has defined.

1. I-want-to-know moments: In this case, users are looking for relevant information surrounding their purchase but are not yet ready to buy. The key to tapping into this moment is to provide the right answers to the consumer’s questions. Providing a FAQ, forums or blogs on your website is an excellent start.

2. I-want-to-do moments: This moment can happen before or after the purchase is made. In this case, the consumer is looking for a helping hand in learning about something they don’t understand. The key to tapping into this moment is to create value added content that answers their questions and forms a connection with your brand.  The content can be videos or articles; just make sure they support both your potential and existing customers.

3. I-want-to-go moments: The consumer has decided to purchase goods or services from a local store. To even be considered as a local option, you must have your location easily available online. Some popular directories are currently Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook.

4. I-want-to-buy moments: The golden moment for businesses; the consumer is finally ready to purchase! You can’t assume businesses will seek you out. By having control of the moments above, businesses will increase the number of consumers choosing you for their purchase in the growing mobile marketplace.

Owning Micro-Moments

When it comes to owning consumer micro-moments in your industry, businesses should look to excel in three areas.

1. Be There: As Google suggests, you need to anticipate micro-moments in your industry and commit to being there for customers when those moments occur.

I-want-to-know moments: What questions are consumers going to ask, and do you have the answers already in place?

I-want-to-go moments: Have you already created channels that show where you’re located?

I-want-to-do moments: Have you already posted videos and written articles explaining important teachable moments?

I-want-to-buy moments: Do you already have a digital purchasing platform set up?

65% of all mobile consumers want relevant information no matter what brand it’s from. This tells us that they haven’t formed brand recognition yet. They’re waiting for a company to “be there” for them with relevant information, a company that they may build brand loyalty to in the future.

2. Be Useful: 73% of all consumers saying getting relevant content is the most important attribute when choosing a brand. That being said you want content that caters to each moment.

I-want-to-know moments: Consumers simply want their questions answered.

I-want-to-go moments: Using localization such as map directions or local inventory ads from Google are great ways to fit these needs.

I-want-to-do moments: Creating a how to video is a great way to help support customers before and after.

I-want-do-buy moments: It’s all about speed here; consumers favor companies whose sites allow them to make lightning fast purchases.

3. Be Quick: We can’t stress these enough fast loading times make a huge difference. Websites that take longer than 3 seconds to load have the potential to lose up to 40% of their customer base. Here’s how to be quicker in each moment:

I-want-to-know moments: Make sure your answers are searchable and written as simply as possible.

I-want-to-go moments: Have your address on all pages of your website and integrate Google Maps directly into your contact page.

I-want-to-do moments: Make sure your video loads quickly by using website plugins that passively load videos when a page is opened.

I-want-to-buy moments: Test your e-commerce platform and make sure you use the fewest steps possible to get from a product to a purchase.

Additionally, your company can ensure swiftness by:

Eliminating Steps: It takes to complete any process on your site, if its e-commerce, create or use integrations that support one-step transactions (like strip or PayPal). Simple click to call buttons within your content can also shorten the sales funnel cycle.

Anticipate Needs: A great place to start is Google Trends here you can search topics, getting search data in real time. This can give you a good idea about what questions your customers may have; you can then create great content from these results. Of course, the best data can be found in your Google Analytic account.

Final Thoughts

As you try to prepare for being more engaging in mobile searches, these are the three questions you can ask yourself about the effectiveness of your content:

1. Addressing Intent: what is the purpose of a consumer’s search and does your content match the query?
2. Context: What’s scenario surrounding the intent and do you have digital channels for all customer segments?
3. Immediacy: How quickly can you answer that question and how effective are your answers?

Of course, you don’t have to go through this process alone, teaming up with Mission Disrupt as a certified Google Partner is an excellent way to maximize your exposure online while you worry about the core operations of your bu