Dive Into Google’s Recent Research on Consumer Purchases

Recently, Google put out a report analyzing how consumers behave and make purchases online. The report discusses a complicated grey area of purchase intent or purchase consideration, which sits somewhere between customers’ triggers and purchases, and reveals how and where consumers explore products.

Called the “Messy Middle,” the report clarifies the ways purchase patterns are often not linear and can take on surprising directions – posing challenges to all sorts of brands. This is rooted in the contemporary reality that today’s consumers spend a significant amount of time learning about new products and competing products, taking in lots of information and weighing the pros and cons of a purchase to ensure they find what they’re looking for. After all, with unlimited troves of information at their fingertips, there is no limit to how much they can search for while exploring and evaluating their buys.

So, how can marketers adapt? This pattern in consumer behavior poses challenges, no doubt, and gives brands a lot of strategic and creative leeway to surprise, delight, and inspire customers. It is a marketer’s job to learn as much as possible about their target audience – what they like, what keeps them up at night, what they aspire to be. Forging a personal connection through personalized advertising, content marketing, social media, or other channels allows for a robust and memorable brand experience.

From a content strategy perspective, identifying your customers’ needs with high quality, tailored content is a powerful way to set yourself apart. What trends captivate your audience? How close can your content bring a customer to a conversion? As you continue to engage customers who have responded well, opted in, followed you, or otherwise kept an eye on your content, remain fluid in how you plan campaigns and evaluate their success. Consider an agile framework or quick experiments to keep your approach fresh and varied. (It will be more interesting for you that way, too!)

If you’re a content creator looking to navigate the “Messy Middle” between triggers and purchases, ASTRALCOM is here to help. Get in touch today.