From: Branding in the Digital Age: You’re Spending Your Money in All the Wrong Places by David C. Edelman
When making purchasing decisions, consumers go on a “consumer decision journey” comprised of four stages: consider a selection of brands; evaluate by seeking input from peers, reviewers, and others; buy; and enjoy, advocate, bond. This journey replaces the famous funnel metaphor.
David’s excellent work helped me find my footing. My research indicates the customer decision journey varies, based on personality traits. Some personalities will have a much quicker cycle when aligned with the product/marketing message fit. Conversion rates of 10x to 20x vs. the least performing traits have been observed and duplicated many times.
Some personality traits will not advocate at all. It’s not in them to do so.
Evaluation stage can vary significantly based upon traits such as risk avoidance which can slow down decisions.
My research indicates people are very different and marketers make two fundamental decisions when reaching out to mass audiences.
- They overreach their audiences by 9/10s
- They blend too many different messages into an ‘averaged’ message
Both of the above activities set up noise in the system that can be challenging.
