Buyer Behaviour - How Digital Marketing is Influencing It
Saturday, October 6, 2018
The internet is a game-changer in every sense. Almost every aspect of modern life is in some way altered through the inclusion of internet functionality. In the area of Businesses and Marketing, gone are the days of spending a significant amount of cash on traditional marketing efforts.
Article Content:
Analytics and the Market
Social Media
Data Capture for Audience Understanding
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
AI & Quick Purchase Options
Let's take a look under the microscope at how digital marketing is influencing buyer behaviour & customer acquisition.
#1 Analytics and the Market
The purest language is mathematics, it never lies if you speak it correctly. Analytics is the key to understanding and building new business practices.
Understanding what customers order and view, helps companies decide on their target audience and marketing strategies. These strategies are based on time, geographic location, price range and so on.
#2 Social Media
Social media platforms are without a doubt, one of the biggest contributing factors in digital marketing. Companies have come to realise that products only sell when people talk about them.
Facebook not only changed the social interaction scene but also ushered in the next generation of word of mouth marketing ploys. Companies now connect to their customers through social media. Using it as a platform to humanise the brand in a more casual setting.
Viral trends are being utilised and integrated into brand posts in order to attract customers to buy more. User suggested advertisements are created from user searches, online reviews and likes and then promoted within their feeds to perpetuate sales.
Providing customer satisfaction through a more casual setting like social media creates a positive customer experience. This means that Social Media is doing half of a business’ job, marrying Customer Satisfaction and Customer Happiness together.
#3 Data Capture for Audience Understanding
Most companies, regardless of their size agree that knowing the customer is the key to selling products better. But how exactly do you go about this? The answer is Big Data! Companies analyse consumer behavior when shopping by studying the data, and this in turn fuels the marketing strategy.
Users are constantly connected to the digital world through their phones and mobile devices. The data consumed each second is recorded and analysed to better target the audience. Big data is one of the newest tools that companies use these days to maximise their understanding of their customer base.
#4 Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
With the help of search engines, customers rely heavily on their own research to come to a decision about a product or service. SEO Analytics has emerged from an afterthought to one of the most effective tools to determine search engine optimisation. It is more important to understand what the user searches and relay back information based on what they search.
Companies do not rely just on keyword stuffing and link spamming anymore. They rely on closely observed data of customer searches. The bottom line of properly executed SEO is to climb search rankings, for more traffic & greater sales. As digital marketing progresses, so does our understanding of better SEO techniques and tools.
#5 AI & Quick Purchase Options
AI systems such as Alexa help remove any potential online sales hurdles with their quick purchase capabilities. Quick purchase options help shorten sales funnels, meaning consumer drop-off from a regular sales process is avoided altogether.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to have a remarkable impact on the digital marketing industry in the coming years. This technology is being used to maintain relations with customers, assist them with purchase decisions, enhance engagement, and boost lead generation.
It is allowing digital marketers to offer improved communication while gaining real-time information about consumer behaviour. Machine learning, which is a type of AI technology is assisting marketers in their SEO efforts, ad targeting, and much more.
AI is disrupting digital marketing in the areas of customer service, content marketing, voice search and digital advertising.
Digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa are making it easy for users to conduct voice searches. These assistants can provide quick answers to a user’s questions, understanding their intent and making purchases on behalf of users.
According to SEOPressor; By 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice searches.
Final words
It is natural that change is the only constant. Technology has created a huge difference in how traditional businesses approach and use trends and information to their own leverage. This not only leads to better business models and customer transactions but also increases competition.