Content = Purchase…How to Influence Purchasing Decisions

By this point it is safe to say the customer’s buyer’s journey has changed. Customers do more of their own research, and they engage with more content to support their decision-making. In fact the numbers look something like this:

3 Types Of Content To Illustrate The Customer’s Buying Journey

• 70-90% of the customer buyer’s journey is complete prior to engaging a vendor. (Forrester)
• Customers engage with 11.4 pieces of content prior to making a purchase. (Forrester)
• Customers are 5x more dependent on content than they were 5 years ago. (Nielsen)

The examples above illustrate the three different types of content used to determine which was most impactful in the customer’s buyer’s journey across the three best known stages defined as:

• Brand Familiarity: Expert Content (3rd Party Content which they defined as credible)
• Brand Affinity: Brand Content (from the brand or brand employees)
• Brand Purchase Intent: User-Generated (Reviews such as Amazon)

While all three types of contents showed some uplift for the customer at various points in the customer buying process, expert generated content proved to be the most effective for giving brands improved sentimentality across all three phases of the customer buyer’s journey. 

How These 3 Types Of Content Impact The Customers:

Although the countless technologies and mobile devices available today are smart enough that we can simply tap their surface and pay for goods, 83% of respondents said they go online to research products, but then buy them in-store.

They're doing so for a reason. People want to see and touch what they're buying. They want to experience the product firsthand, whether that means testing an electronic device or trying on a retail garment.

Whether the customer is a practical shopper who weighs the pros and cons before spending money, or a person who is simply enticed by a product she can actually touch... it's all about show versus tell.

That said, images, photography, and multimedia have an immense impact on customers' purchasing behavior because they provide a way for customers to make a visual connection with a product before they buy. And the best part about today's technology is that it enables you to reach a customer with rich visual content anytime, anywhere.

So, how can you use images, photography, and other multimedia content to positively influence customers and build stronger connections with your customer base?

“Content” can do much more than build brand awareness though; it attracts interest, builds trust and ultimately, creates new customers.

To build trust and credibility, you’ve got to forget pushing products in the face of potential customers, thinking first how to create a genuinely useful content experience. 2015 is the year to make your customer’s live easier and help inform them on how to make the right decisions when it comes to buying.

As valuable as the content may seem (especially when you’re giving it away for free), this information is what will keep a customer nurtured until they’re ready to purchase rather than move on the next piece of content. The real trick to making this work is understanding the needs of a customer around the time they’re considering a purchase.

So, people are coming to your website, and that’s great. But how many of them are actually buying something from you?

Chances are it’s less than 1% of your visitor base.

But don’t worry! You can actually influence your visitors to make a purchase.

Start today by contacting ConnecTheDot.