Technology has changed the world and continues to do so on a daily basis. In order to survive, business owners should be quick to consider how advances will affect the running of their company. Understanding the impact technology has on consumer thinking and behaviour is fundamental in ensuring your marketing strategies continue adapting to suit your changing customer needs. Below are just five examples of the way technology has impacted consumers worldwide.
1. Content overload is decreasing customer attention
We have all heard it before – content is king. However, the plethora of content online has had a significant impact on customer attention. The bottom line is that there is simply far too much content for people to read and as a result of this customer attention is declining. This means that you not only have to find a way to grab attention quickly but, also make sure any USPs are clear and that the purchase process is easy and efficient. To keep up and stand out there are three main points you should be focusing on to help:
- Create helpful content that stands out – content should be written with strong titles and headlines for the purpose of helping your customer’s needs and answering their questions.
- Clear copy to highlight USPs – tell your customer plain and simple why they should be buying from you.
- Streamline the check-out and sign-up process – now you have their attention don’t lose it due to a long-winded unfriendly online experience.
Don’t be disheartened by decreasing customer attention and remember content can be powerful, not only in increasing conversion rates but also improving brand awareness. Be sure to produce attention-grabbing content regularly and stay one step ahead of the game.
If you want to delve deeper into how you can be using content marketing within the buyer journey, don’t forget to take a look at our other blog which discusses this at more length.
2. Increased consumer expectations
With more and more online businesses, technology has created a world of too much choice. When faced with too much choice, customers online can be prevented from making a purchase or reaching a concluded decision. Having the luxury of choice has caused consumer expectation to increase as users online can now more easily find ‘better’.
Increased consumer expectations can be attributed to their expectations rarely being met because now more than ever customers want a single product that will fulfil all their needs. With this in mind, it is important to look at the service or product you offer and determine the number of needs you will help your customers meet.
Technology has made it quick and easy for users to look elsewhere, move on and find something else. In order to keep up with demand you have to find ways to adapt your product / service to continue to meet increasing customer expectations.
3. Importance of a personalised experience
Although the world has, and continues to move online, people still crave interaction and attention that is bespoke to them. As parts of the human-element are removed from processes due to AI and algorithms it is important to keep focus on providing a personalised experience.
A personalised experience goes beyond inserting your customer’s names into emails, it is about looking at the way in which you promote your product to your target market. Online users do not like to be shown ads or offers that they feel has nothing to do with their interest, and with the advances in technology and automation (particularly within PPC) there is no excuse for this to be the case.
Remember your customer will always be at the heart of what you do, providing them with a personalised and targeted marketing experience will prevent frustration and should increase sales.
4. Brand awareness, trust & likeability
Technological advances have made it easier for online businesses to launch. As a result of this, many customers will rely on their level of trust and likability of a brand to determine whether or not they purchase / convert. To positively influence customer behaviour you need to start finding ways to become more trustworthy.
Trustworthiness can be built through a combination of efforts; content marketing, social media, positive reviews. By growing your online presence and reputation, more visitors to your website will deem you trustworthy, which should increase the likelihood they purchase and continue to purchase with you.
5. Mobiles, tablets & smart devices
Mobile first. This is something that Google has continued to push in their recent algorithm updates. Anything you have on your website should be compatible with mobiles, tablets and all smart devices. This is because more people now use their phones to research and even complete transactions than ever before.
Smart devices offer consumers convenience and in order to stay connected you need to ensure you’re mobile-friendly, from reading content on screen to an easy check-out process. Moreover, fail to make your site mobile friendly and your keyword rankings are likely to take quite a hit.
Let us help you!
Here at Seed, we are always one step ahead, constantly keeping up-to-date with new industry advances and trends. So, let us help make sure your digital marketing strategy is equipped to handle the changing technological world – always being at the top of its game and suited for your customers. We are always looking for new and exciting challenges, so get in contact with us today!
