One of those challenges is understanding the influencers in consumers' cyclical path-to-purchase (P2P) decision-making process—elements that can make or break the connection between what consumers are looking for and expect, and what they actually purchase.
“Consumers are influenced by both emotional and rational elements along their shopping journey," says Dave Santangelo, Senior Key Accounts Director at Actûrus. "Pinpointing what hinders and encourages consumers to complete the purchase cycle allows brands to better engage with consumers at each stage.”
In the digital world, the consumer’s journey along the P2P happens in moments—moments in which brands and potential customers can meet and interact as decisions are being made in front of the computer or mobile device in the privacy of a consumer’s home.
This leads to challenging market research questions such as:
- How does social media influence the purchase decision?
- What about online ads? Does one type influence a certain consumer more than another?
- In what ways do blog posts and website content, tone of content, and visual media influence the consumer?
- Are online product forums and reviews as influential as feedback and opinions of friends and family?
- Are there other “off-screen” influencers to the PTP decision made online?
- How can you optimize digital influencers to position a brand at the top of a consumer’s mind, and ready to buy?
- What are the unique influencers for the millennial consumer, who will account for as much as 30% of retail sales* by the year 2020?
Actûrus typically conducts a three-stage P2P analysis that allows brands to gain a deep understanding of how decisions are made along the consumer journey—whether they’re middle-aged or millenials. Their teams help marketers understand the intersection between channels, product features, and brand. This provides insights into analytics such as:
- The channel used, it’s strengths and weaknesses
- Consumers' “need state” (e.g., emotional and functional aspects of purchase)
- When and where products are purchased
- Influences on the purchase process
- Identifying the consumer’s “consideration set” and deploy strategic marketing
- Understand barriers to consumers completing the P2P cycle
- Learn how to better engage consumers to follow-through on the purchasing journey
- Effectiveness of Marketing Channels
With so many data points, navigating the P2P journey that customers take with your brand becomes an ever-evolving process. With consistent assessment and relevant insight about an audience’s needs and their key decision making points, marketers will be better equipped to take on their market research challenges and implement strategic campaigns.
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