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The Consumer Buying Behavior in the Digital Age [Infographic]

Back in the day, you’d have to meticulously plan a trip to the mall in hopes of finding that specific product you want to purchase. Salespeople were the gatekeepers of information—you needed to ask them about anything you needed to know about the product you wanted to get. If you encountered a salesperson who knew all the ins and outs of the product, then you’re lucky. If not, well then, you’re left with very few details that don’t help you make an informed decision.

It’s not until technology transformed the way we do things that some tedious tasks became more comfortable to do, including shopping.

Now, the digital age has allowed people to browse and buy items right at the palm of their hands, without leaving their seats. The internet contains the information buyers need to know about products via a simple search. In fact, 81% of shoppers turn to search engines before they make a purchase.

Even word-of-mouth marketing and referrals have transitioned online in the form of reviews and testimonials. This marketing strategy dramatically influences a prospective buyer in completing a purchase, as more and more people believe online reviews as much as their peers.

Businesses have adapted to these changes by setting up their e-commerce websites or listing their products in marketplaces to retain their customers.

However, it’s not enough to merely be online. Learning the new trends of consumer buying behavior is critical to conquering your market. It will provide better overall shopping experiences for your consumer and ultimately increase your company’s revenue.

Understanding the Way People Shop

If you want to boost your sales efforts and reach your audience effectively, you should familiarize yourself with the way they shop, instead of blindly relying on your email marketing service. Here are some fast facts that can help you optimize your digital marketing strategies.

Consumer Buying Behavior in the Digital Age

Studying the Market

It’s imperative to segment your users and study the specifics of your market. Perform data cleansing to weed out those that don’t fit your ideal customer profile. Who is your audience? Here are some more interesting facts that are specific to groups of people.

    • Generation: Inbound Marketing Agents revealed that millennials consider word-of-mouth and search engines to be the top two influencers of their purchase activity. This generation is also the key demographic of online commerce, as they are the most well-versed in technology. Buying online seems more natural to them than any other age group.
    • Gender: A whopping 85% of all consumer purchases come from women. Consider using methods that will target them when doing your marketing. Explore themes like empowerment, equality, and emotions.
  • Background: In a study done by Total Retail, 86% of respondents who had minor children purchased products using a mobile device. The convenience of online shopping is a win for busy parents who can’t leave their kids in the house and have a lot of other things to do.

 

Keeping Up with the Competition

Because of the tight competition in e-commerce, marketplaces, and physical stores, it’s only natural that you’d want consumers to view you as the top contender in your industry. Here are a few more reminders for making sure you have robust digital marketing strategies in place.

    • Any business will benefit from using the most current SEO practices; even the travel industry would benefit from the SEO services of someone like Victorious – http://victoriousseo.com/verticals/travel/. You should regularly research keywords that you can weave into your site and product pages. At the very least, you want your website to show up in the first few results on search engines so that consumers check out your products first. Using marketing tools is also a great way to get your business ranking high on the search engines, you can read this article here to find out more about local seo tools in order to do this!
    • Optimize your website for mobile viewing. A lot of the research phase happens with the use of a smartphone. Don’t drive away your customers by using unreadable text and flashy colors.
    • Creating social media accounts for your brand almost feels like a requirement now. Set up a Facebook Page, Instagram, and Twitter for your business. Let your consumers know that they can reach you on their favorite social platform as well.
  • Use visuals. Photo and video are great selling tools for consumers who want to inspect a product online since they don’t have the luxury of time to check it out in person.

 

Conclusion

Having sound marketing practices, excellent customer service, and stellar products and services are the ingredients for success in your business. Part of ensuring you have all three is getting to know your buyers more and learning the way they think.

Want to know more about digital marketing? Contact us now!

Rob FitzGerald

Rob Fitzgerald is the Founder and CEO of Connext Digital. He has amassed a wealth of digital marketing experience since the late 90s. He is authentic in wanting to help businesses increase their bottom line through strategic customer acquisition efforts. Outside of work, Rob enjoys watching Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football and the Washington Redskins. He lives to watch his kids play sports and is very active in coaching youth athletics.