Parsing the process your customer uses
to find you is essential for maximizing your business's visibility to patrons,
old and new.
Contributed By:
Guest Writer
Chief Marketing Officer of YP
Source: Entrepreneur
Consumers today search everywhere to find
what they need and want. They’re at home, they’re at work, and they’re on the
go. This zigzagging
customer journey makes it challenging for local businesses to discern why some
consumers move in one direction while some move in the other. So, why
do consumers choose one business over another? To answer the question, business
owners must focus on three essential principles: knowing your audience,
establishing your online presence, and making it easy for people to find you.
Know your audience.
Consumers value different types of
information when they make buying decisions. Primary information
consists of the critical basics like price, availability of the product or
service and business location. Secondary information provides
more context around the business and its offerings by satisfying additional
questions or needs consumers may have. It includes testimonials, reviews,
offers, photos or videos, and is typically obtained later in a search
process.
According to The Why Before
the Buy, a survey of more
than 5,400 consumers conducted by YP
(formerly YellowPages.com), in collaboration with Thrive Analytics and the Local Search Association,
consumers rely almost equally on primary and secondary
information -- 52 percent and 48 percent, respectively. But consumers
who said their decision was based mostly on secondary
information spend, on average, twice as much as those relying on primary
information.
Not only do businesses need to provide
basic information about a product or service, they also need to make available
the secondary information that many consumers weigh when making buying
decisions. In many cases, it’s this secondary information that tips the
scales in favor of one business over another.
Establish a complete, accurate online
presence.
Many of the reasons consumers cite for
selecting a particular business are linked to the business’s online presence
-- something that a business owner can control. By addressing incorrect or
inconsistent information, encouraging customers to write reviews or sharing
video or photo content, an owner builds and shapes his firm's presence and
presentation.
Consumers won’t even consider a business
with a poor online presence. Inconsistent information across the internet,
inaccurate website content and wrong contact information frustrate consumers,
often sending them to the competition. Businesses without a website, pictures,
or ratings/reviews also miss out on would-be customers. So, just as there are
key factors consumers consider before making a purchase, there are also factors
that influence a consumer’s decision to avoid a business.
Make it easy to be found.
We live in an always-connected, always-on
world. Mobile devices play a critical role in the customer’s journey, and
businesses that aren’t making it easy for these on-the-go consumers to reach
them are missing out. Although consumers may start their search elsewhere,
they’re bound to use smartphones at some point. According to the Why Before the Buy
research, among the top reasons consumers use a mobile device is the ability to
find a business nearby. They also love the click-to-call feature, which allows
them to contact a business quickly and directly. Smartphones are not only ideal
for local search, they’ve also revolutionized how and where consumers shop.
In today’s digital world, the decision to
buy from one business over another can occur without hints or clues.
Complicating matters, consumers may similarly stop considering a business
without any warning. It is more important than ever for local businesses to
know when, where and how to reach consumers who are looking for them. Failure
to do so could mean losing opportunities.
No comments:
Post a Comment