Effective marketing, whether for conferences or cars, requires a keen understanding of consumer behavior. And arguably no one knows that better than Google. The search engine processes thousands of searches every second, more than 100 billion each month. And now, in the United States and many other countries, Google says more of those searches take place on mobile devices than on computers.
“Most companies still underestimate mobile’s impact on the customer experience and continue to invest in traditional journeys, while bolting on mobile and other new technologies,” says Brian Solis, principal analyst at Altimeter Group. "This creates a somewhat effective but clunky experience at best. At the same time, however, mobile customers don’t have patience for anything less than something intuitive, relevant, and fast."
To help brands better understand the implications of this shift to mobile, Google has introduced the concept of micro-moments to describe how consumers move through the purchase funnel. Micro-moments occur multiple times throughout the day when consumers turn to their devices, often smartphones, to gather information and make decisions. “This is a fundamental change to the consumer journey,” says Joseph Corral, Google’s head of marketing for micro-moments. “The consumer is empowered. Before where media was pushed to consumers on the brand’s terms, today it’s all about the consumer’s terms, about their moments of need. And the brands that understand how to be useful in those moments of need are the ones winning their hearts, minds, and dollars.”
Google has identified three strategies for success in this new environment.
Be there.
According to Google, 51 percent of smartphone users have discovered a new company or product when conducting a search on their smartphones. Consider how your brand stacks up against the competition, for example in online search results for popular topics in your industry. Are you there and do you like what you see?
Be useful.
Figure out what questions the audience is trying to answer, and provide content that meets their needs. “We have a dog food company that understands one of the things that matters most to their market is where to find dog-friendly parks that are near them. It’s not necessarily related to buying food, but being the brand that helps them to find that information when they really care about it is enough to build that affinity and a usefulness for later on down the journey,” Corral says. Google reports that 69 percent of online consumers agree that the quality, timing, or relevance of a company’s message influences their perception of a brand.
Be quick.
Frustration is now measured in seconds, not minutes. In fact, if a brand’s mobile site or app takes too long to load or requires too many steps, 29 percent of smartphone users will immediately switch to another site or app. “It’s an increase of consumer expectation and fortunately it’s because more and more brands are able to offer that speed,” Corral says. Communications need to be clear, concise, and quickly consumable. Streamline your mobile site so it is providing the essential information in the fastest way possible.
And while the growth of mobile is what has bolstered consumers’ expectations of having their needs met quickly, these micro-moments take place across all channels and devices. “Not all those moments are on mobile,” Corral says. "I still have the expectation of instant gratification, but there’s going to be times that I will turn to my laptop to get that. So you really have to be thinking across screens. But you certainly need to understand how to be mobile first."
