Archive for the ‘Consumer Behavior’ Category
We knew information overload would become a deterrent to the online world, just maybe not so fast. After all, the concept of being able to talk to (and hear from) almost everybody in our universe has been so exciting the past few years that the number of friends, followers, likes, retweets, blog comments, etc. created a lot of egomaniacs trying to win popularity contests. No more. Statistics show many people are now spending more time unfriending others on Facebook than they are sending friend requests. Another report says there is as much unfollowing as following going on in the Twittersphere. Not to mention emails, RSS feeds and blog posts that are being ignored more than ever. Let’s face it. It only took a few years for us to be over the excitement of this new technology that connects everyone, everywhere, 24 hours a day.
That’s why the new buzz terms are desired relevance and quality engagement. Larry Page always said his dream was to develop the “perfect search”, meaning someone would type in a couple of keywords and only one Google search result would appear because it was exactly what that person was looking for. That’s a great example of relevance and quality engagement, isn’t it? Hopefully that’s what they’re trying to accomplish with Google+, the 10,000 pound gorilla’s latest attempt to overpower Facebook. Watch a demo and see how one of Google+’s core benefits is focusing in on quality over quantity engagement. Google understands how quickly we have become fed up with TMI (too much information), and it appears they’re trying to offer an alternative that at least moves information overload into smaller buckets. We say good luck with that Google, but hey, at least they’re trying.
Yet the biggest challenge with achieving quality over quantity experiences is how the powers of the online world will most likely get there. We want relevance, so they need to know more about us. This is why search engines and websites are developing even creepier Big Brother tools to watch and respond to our every move. The more apparent this becomes, the more we complain. The powers that be say we’re spoiled; that we want to have our cake and eat it to. We say there’s got to be a better way. While that battle will take some time before it’s resolved, the average individual’s impatience with information overload is ready to explode. Which is why we at Brandtailers foresee the next group of genius geeks will be those who can take a person’s way-too-big to be useful anymore world, and hone it back down into something meaningful, useful and, most of all, enjoyable.
No, for a change we’re not talking about Facebook, although it is certainly one example of this new concept. Likeonomics is the new buzz word in marketing that actually makes a tremendous amount of sense. Rohit Bhargava, best selling author of Personality Not Included, is about to launch his new book, Likeonomics, which covers today’s increasing need for marketers to be believable. Rohit explains, “Likeonomics is a term that explains the new Affinity Economy where the most likeable people, ideas, and organizations are the ones we believe in, buy from and get inspired by.” He notes that we are in a modern day Believability Crisis, stating the many obvious reasons why consumers mistrust most businesses today. We couldn’t agree more.
In 2009, Chris Brogan came up with a great line in his book, Trust Agents, authored with Julien Smith, stating that Human is the new black. What a great way to explain that vulnerability, truthfulness and humility are what today’s consumers look for first when choosing a brand. Yet the majority of marketers are still fearful of communication messages that embrace transparency, simplicity and telling emotional, human stories.
The Likeonomics concept is one more example of how people trust the opinions of strangers more than messages from well-known brands. Rohit Bhargava says it best in his book, “Wikipedia is only the most visible example of a revolution in trust that has meant that people are going online and trusting the opinions and expertise of people who they don’t know. Content creation, aggregation and now … content curation are all new forms of microinfluence and they are shifting everything we know about trust.”
The potentially great outcome of this could result in marketers finally embracing the fact that truth sells. Advertising efforts will no longer be based on who has the biggest budgets and delivers the most jaw dropping creative. Instead it will be about who delivers the most believable message. This can level the playing field for the underdogs to have their shot at market share. All we can say is, it’s about time. Bring it on.
In the song “Tracing” John Mayer sings the following verse that has always resonated with me:
And if you want to know the moment
I knew that I was still alone
I found I’d never learned your number
I only stored it in my phone
You’d think by now
I’d know the shape of calling home
“The shape of calling home” is the perfect way to describe the feeling of dialing a phone number from memory and seeing your finger trace that familiar shape across the keypad. There was a time, not so long ago, when we memorized all our most important phone numbers. Sure, details of infrequently used numbers could be stored in computers, address books or rolodexes but the good ones – the ones that really counted – we knew them by heart.
However, with the advent of the smart phone, speed dial and self-syncing contact lists, the day-to-day necessity for memorizing phone numbers has been eliminated; especially for younger generations that have grown up with this technology at their fingertips. When you hit “reply” to a text message, it barely crosses your mind that there is even a phone number involved.
There is no doubt that such new technology has brought with it a whole lot of convenience. Even if you lose your phone… no big deal… just update your Facebook status to request all those misplaced numbers.
But in certain situations, no amount of technology can quite replace a memorized phone number. This was starkly illustrated in the title of a blog entry I spotted recently quoting a survivor of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. It read, simply: “No phone, don’t remember parents’ number, no way to contact my family” [http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/2011/03/no-phone-dont-remember-parents-number.html]. This person’s contact list was, quite literally, washed away in the disaster.
Living in earthquake-prone California, it is hard to ignore the fact that unforeseen events might occur at any time and if they do an old-fashioned dial-it-yourself phone might just be your first means of contact to those nearest and dearest to you. So think of this as a public service announcement; memorize those important phone numbers and encourage your loved ones to do the same. Let’s hope there isn’t any reason for you to thank me for this advice anytime soon. But if there is, you might find great comfort in knowing the shape of calling home.
The problem with being cheap is that once you start, your competitor will likely play the same game. 90-days later you’ll find yourself as a profitless commodity.
Cheap is a lazy way out of the battle for consumer awareness.
Why do some customers focus so much on price? Because you’re not giving them anything else to think about.
With 84% of U.S. consumers using the internet to determine what they’re going to buy and who they’re going to buy from, having a brand is more important than ever.
Isn’t it true that in every market measured, the leading brand, the one with the highest positive name recognition, has a huge advantage over the others? Whether it’s Honda, Nike or Tide Laundry Detergent, a lot of benefits go to the brand that wins.
Branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, it is about getting consumers to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem. The great success stories are not the companies that did what others did, but a little cheaper. They are companies that decided to do things a whole lot differently. Don’t just think better. Think different and establish your brand.
Written By: Kristen Roberts
Google has needed a better way to zero in on local search, local consumers, and local resources for several years now. But who would have thought it would be found in an email list of coupon loving customers? Enter Groupon. The less-than-two-year-old start up that uses local search and email to quickly offer over 25 million members in 30 countries convenient, local solutions to their needs and wants.
You know, Groupon, the Chicago based company that went from zero to 1/2 billion in revenue within two years? Groupon, the company Google won’t confirm, but is most likely buying for a mere 2.5 billion dollars? Oh them. The email coupon company.
Email coupon company or not, Groupon has made a a loud boom in the world of online marketing. Loud enough for the likes of Google to pay attention to with their big fat wallet. Especially because small and medium businesses are expected to spend 10% less on Google’s core paid search in the next five years, according to Borrell Associates. In fact, email marketing is projected to double by 2015 while paid local-search spending is expected to plummet. Last month, Google even moved star exec Marissa Mayer to the helm of local services from search products. For those of us who understand the inner workings of Google, that’s a major event.
“Google has known for years that local is the major untapped area for online advertising,” said David Hallerman, eMarketer principal analyst. Today’s online consumers are searching for their local online nesting areas, e-communities and virtual neighborhood hangouts. And, no surprise, Google wants to offer the small town solution in cyber space that can bring them additional local revenue.
But don’t forget, the online world of marketing success is all about data. Data beyond email addresses. Data that says “Sue likes this, and hates that. Sue shops in the mornings and loves dogs, and buys coupons for Thai Bistros, and supports local non-profits for blind children.” For Google to have Groupon as part of the company would mean having ten times more local data like this at their fingertips. And he who has more of this data wins. So 2.5 billion dollars may be a bargain. Unreal, huh?
Marketers are often afraid word-of-mouse will hurt more than help because it appears consumers take more time complaining than complementing in online reviews. But do businesses really need to fear these negative voices taking over their brand image? We say no. Not if the marketer commits to being actively engaged.
We don’t mean hiring one of the current snake oil reputation management firms that promises to have negative reviews removed, while posting an untrustworthy number of fabricated positive comments. Studies show customers see through these even faster than Google and Yelp’s supposedly legitimate algorithms. By actively engaged we mean offering a variety of different places for customers to form an opinion of your brand. Certainly Facebook and Twitter are two obvious sources, but there are plenty of other powerhouses. For example, what about making a name for your company as an expert in answering questions on related forums, or Ask.com, or even Yahoo!answers?
How about not only having a blog, but sharing it’s content via Digg, Stumble Upon, and Reddit? And don’t forget about YouTube. As the online world over saturates us with written content, people will defer more and more to video for everything from shopping decisions to consumer opinion. What about telling your brand story in pictures? There’s almost always a way, so use photo sharing sites like Flickr and Picasa.
And yet, just being on all these sites is not enough. Updating new and interesting content at least twice a week is a must – everywhere. But even more important than staying active is being creative and interesting. If you give customers other online opportunities to get to know you, you’d better give them good reason why they should prefer you.
Sounds like a lot of work, huh? It is. But just having a website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account is not enough these days. You need to create two-way conversations everywhere you can. That way, even if some negative reviews pop up, customers have a variety of other venues to learn more about you and what you sell. Venues that can tell a great story – the story you want them to know.
