Buyers are changing in every industry. Armed with extensive and easily available information, buyers are spending more time researching and using a broader range of sources than ever before.
Buyers today believe they have infinite choice and infinite power and they’re not afraid to use it!
The era of the ’empowered buyer’ is characterised by:
- 50-70% of their sales journey is undertaken before they buy
- 55% spend more time researching a purchase than in the past
- 67% of buyers use a wider variety of sources than in the pasts.
- Personal recommendations (81 percent), including those from within social-media circles (61 percent), play a major role in purchase decisions (Deloitte’s Digital Democracy survey.)
- An average of 12 general searches are undertaken before they link through to a specific brands site
- Up to 17 pieces of content are investigated before they engage a sales person
- Only 25% revealing their interest to buy early on in their research.
“By 2020 it is expected that customers will manage
85% of their purchases without talking to a human!” (Gartner Research)
Customers are increasingly immune to the push based marketing approaches and it’s harder to get added value sales in the process they are controlling.
So as an SME what do you need to do?
Get better at understanding your target market, your true niche and find out exactly what they are looking for and how they are looking. Use your existing data to help you do that. Ensure you are choosing the language your customers would use, and the criteria they will judge you by. Make customer research easy for them. Have great FAQ’s and be available to answer any questions.
Have a strong brand promise that connects your Vision Mission Values, your positioning and your customer experience. Ensure you engage with your customers in a way that differentiates your business and connects with them emotionally. Stripped bare it’s Marketing 101 really!
