Consumers today can find what they want, when they want it and at the lowest price. With the latest technology at the consumers’ fingertips, they’ve not only embraced the technological advances but are becoming more curious, demanding and dependant on it.
So how can marketers keep up and stay ahead of the game?
With a rising number of consumers shopping online, marketers can focus on the growing opportunities this presents to create useful, meaningful connections throughout the consumer’s everyday life.
As consumer expectations rise, the most assistive brands will come out on top.
These days consumers are looking for solutions, and they want it fast. All you have to do is turn to your phone or voice assistant to tell you where you can find it close by, at the best price. And when you’re ready to ‘Buy Now’ the transaction has to be smooth and quick.
Technology has dramatically altered the consumer journey. You might get a customer walk in, find something they like, then pull out their phone to compare prices and buy it online instead. You can see this as a threat or use technology to dramatically alter the consumer journey with value-added benefits to guide them along their decision-making process.
When it comes to assisting customers with targeted information, it’s important to use the data you have to better understand them as an individual customer.
“Assistance is really the new battleground for growth. As expectations of the empowered consumer continue to rise, the most assistive brands will win.”
– Allan Thygesen, Google President of the Americas
More and more marketers are trying to break away from old ways of thinking. They’re using their customer data, investing in technology to model that data to make it easier to preempt touch points and assist their customers at the right time with the right message. It makes brands being helpful easier. You just have to make sure that your product, pricing, promotion and brand values are consistently communicated across all channels and touchpoints, be it in-store or online.
Technology gives us more room to make improvements and innovate. The smart marketer will use that to drive their business growth and stand out from the competition.