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Internet Marketing 101 series: online behavior

November 19, 2009 [Part 2]
With over a billion people using the Internet at some time during the day, companies needed to figure out a way to stand out; to be more than just a page of information.  Webmasters, along with their marketing counterparts, began watching how people's eyes tracked over a computer screen while viewing a Web site. They noted the words or phrases people clicked on, the areas they looked at first and where they looked the least, and the patterns their eyes followed as they scanned the page.  Based on what webmasters and marketers learned, they began creating Web sites that catered to this new information.  Companies were delighted because now they knew how to tailor content and ad messaging in a subtle way, without overwhelming consumers. This led to finer tuned behavioral targeting; which fed people information in a way they requested, in a format that marketers knew worked.  This, of course, led to increased sales for companies who did this well.  It became an art form (called usability).

As people became more accustomed to clicking on links and interacting with information in the way they chose, they started demanding it from other companies.  People started visiting Web sites that met their needs and ignored those that didn't.  The companies that listened and complied with these non-verbal demands excelled (Apple, Dell) and those that didn't started to falter.

Ad agencies and marketers started noticing that the very tools that made them successful offline started to become a hinderance online.  The compelling images they used in TV commercials and print ads were too slow to download and frustrated people, who then left their Web site (called exiting or jumping off). The catchphrases that worked so well on TV were now of little use to people who were hungry for information. They didn't particularly care that GE Brings Good Things To Life if they couldn't find the information they wanted on GE's site.  Google and Apple are both successes because of this concept:  they help people feel empowered through easy-to-find information. People arrive at a Web site to do something: read an article, find information, buy a product.  Anything that slows them down or doesn't meet their needs is an annoyance. 

Marketers noted that one a Web site, a company brands with their words; words that had to be accurate, well written, up-to-date and were written in their consumers' language, not a company's language.  A company brands with the language it uses to engage.  It brands with its navigation and the phrases people use to search for them. 

It is estimated that over 75% of marketers and advertisers don't understand this.  Most believe a Web site should contain brochure-style content and technical specs, and are perplexed as to why their customers aren't visiting their Web sites again (called repeat visitors), or worse, why they're losing their customer base to the competition.  Many aslo believe the saying that content is king, when in reality conversation is king. Content is just something for people to talk about.  Case in point, the recent presidential election was won online, based on daily conversations the Obama team had with its constituents, who then forwarded everything along to their friends, and their friends, and their friends.  Obama said, "I'm asking you to believe not in my ability to bring about change in Washington.  I'm asking you to believe in yours."  The conversation began.  It was fascinating to witness what was happening online  versus what the media was saying offline.  The viral component became so entrenched that it won the 2009 David Ogilvy Award for research achievement.

Two important things happen when a person visits a Web site: (1) They make a judgement about the company: good, bad or indifferent and (2) they subconsciously developed brand loyalty.  When it is time to purchase the company's product, if their needs are met and their questions answered, they're typically not swayed by a salesperson's pitch when they enter the store.  They feel empowered because they already know what they want, why they want it, and they can explain their rationale. 

Today customers' are swayed by conversations online, and their buying behavior supports this belief.  In the offline world, if someone wasn't happy with a company, they'd tell their friends, who may tell their friends, who may recall something completely opposite if asked to recall it later.  Today, someone can post a review online and whenever someone performs a search, that review will show.  Case in point, I wrote a rather disparaging comment about a small bakery in Winston-Salem, NC.  Three years later, it finally left the number three spot when people Googled it.  Thankfully it's now on page 2, and I still haven't stepped foot in the bakery for fear of the wrath of the owner.   But I know of at least fifty people who responded they stopped shopping there because of my comments online.   And I have a very small voice.

People want to find an emotional connection with brands they purchase.  They're viewing promotions, they're receiving free merchandise for inquiring, and they're being touched via email while they're in the buying process.  The conversations they're having are modifying behaviors.

Posted by Suze Bragg on November 19, 2009 | Comments (1)