Influencing decisions Be there!
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 5:15 am
They make purchasing decisions based on recommendations from 'friends', have on average many more connections on social networks than other generations and expect information to come to them. They have no interest in the traditional idea of visiting websites, where organisations send out uniform one-for-all messages, and therefore move mainly in social networks: Facebook, Twitter, review sites, product communities, etc.
The traces they leave behind in those networks create the image that exists online about organizations. It is the reviews, the recommendations, the conversations that are held between connected consumers about your product, your organization or your service. And it is these traces that other consumers encounter that determine the impression they get. There is no distinction in age, gender or sector. It is this group of consumers that can no longer keep up with the majority of organizations and that causes a disconnect.
Social media makes conversations tangible
Social media did not invent conversation; talking to each other is not a modern thing. The conversations we have with each other about organizations have always existed. However, social technology has only made these conversations visible. And where many organizations are frightened by this because they seem to lose control, it actually offers an opportunity: an opportunity to capture these conversations and do something with them. Whether it concerns improving your product based on feedback you collect, or expanding services, the conversations become tangible.
Despite the fact that in every sector the online image of organizations is determined by the market itself and not by the organization, there are too many organizations that are not yet prepared for this. That is surprising. They do not have the infrastructure to be able to pick up these sounds and then be able to respond to this new form of connection that consumers already enter into with each other. And that is where the opportunity lies: an opportunity to gain control (influence) on the image that is formed about you in the market.
What does it look like to gain influence? Research by Altimeter has shown, among other things, that more and more consumers expect 24-hour online service. Of course, that is impossible for the majority of organizations. Therefore, make sure that you are always present with content. If you cannot offer 'live service', that does not mean that you cannot help consumers further in their decision journey: the journey that consumers make from initial consideration ('I am looking for a new pair of pants'), awareness,mexico telegram data to weighing up different alternatives, consideration, and making a purchase decision. Organizations are given the opportunity to be present at each of these points, an opportunity to influence decisions by being present with the right content.
The endless, dynamic decision journey
The journey that consumers go through from their first awareness to purchase, to recommendation or review, is an endless journey. A consumer who ultimately makes a purchase decision is not a consumer for life. Solis explained how he learned the hard way in the cosmetics industry that people still doubt whether their choice of a product was the right one, even after purchase. That also offers an opportunity: responding to that moment with the right content and that feeling makes a consumer switch easily. Whether this consumer switches products or not: the decision journey simply starts again the next time. The consumer comes into contact with alternatives and makes the entire journey again.
There is always a customer journey. Solis discussed a case for a niche product from the high-tech sector. A number of touchpoints were cleverly played on using high-quality YouTube videos that demonstrated the product; information that could actually only be communicated in one way. Identifying the right touchpoints and finding out how the right content can be provided in those touchpoints is an intensive process. Solis himself indicated that he would spend weeks of interviews and profiling on this.
The traces they leave behind in those networks create the image that exists online about organizations. It is the reviews, the recommendations, the conversations that are held between connected consumers about your product, your organization or your service. And it is these traces that other consumers encounter that determine the impression they get. There is no distinction in age, gender or sector. It is this group of consumers that can no longer keep up with the majority of organizations and that causes a disconnect.
Social media makes conversations tangible
Social media did not invent conversation; talking to each other is not a modern thing. The conversations we have with each other about organizations have always existed. However, social technology has only made these conversations visible. And where many organizations are frightened by this because they seem to lose control, it actually offers an opportunity: an opportunity to capture these conversations and do something with them. Whether it concerns improving your product based on feedback you collect, or expanding services, the conversations become tangible.
Despite the fact that in every sector the online image of organizations is determined by the market itself and not by the organization, there are too many organizations that are not yet prepared for this. That is surprising. They do not have the infrastructure to be able to pick up these sounds and then be able to respond to this new form of connection that consumers already enter into with each other. And that is where the opportunity lies: an opportunity to gain control (influence) on the image that is formed about you in the market.
What does it look like to gain influence? Research by Altimeter has shown, among other things, that more and more consumers expect 24-hour online service. Of course, that is impossible for the majority of organizations. Therefore, make sure that you are always present with content. If you cannot offer 'live service', that does not mean that you cannot help consumers further in their decision journey: the journey that consumers make from initial consideration ('I am looking for a new pair of pants'), awareness,mexico telegram data to weighing up different alternatives, consideration, and making a purchase decision. Organizations are given the opportunity to be present at each of these points, an opportunity to influence decisions by being present with the right content.
The endless, dynamic decision journey
The journey that consumers go through from their first awareness to purchase, to recommendation or review, is an endless journey. A consumer who ultimately makes a purchase decision is not a consumer for life. Solis explained how he learned the hard way in the cosmetics industry that people still doubt whether their choice of a product was the right one, even after purchase. That also offers an opportunity: responding to that moment with the right content and that feeling makes a consumer switch easily. Whether this consumer switches products or not: the decision journey simply starts again the next time. The consumer comes into contact with alternatives and makes the entire journey again.
There is always a customer journey. Solis discussed a case for a niche product from the high-tech sector. A number of touchpoints were cleverly played on using high-quality YouTube videos that demonstrated the product; information that could actually only be communicated in one way. Identifying the right touchpoints and finding out how the right content can be provided in those touchpoints is an intensive process. Solis himself indicated that he would spend weeks of interviews and profiling on this.