Has the customer journey changed direction?
It got me thinking about people and how we interact and what taking out the irl (in real life) element of the customer journey might mean for those of us in marcoms. If we wind back to 50 years ago, we know much of the customer sales journey was around personal relationships. The corner shopkeeper would know their customers by name, know their favourite cut of meat and ask after their husbands (as normally it would be the woman of the house who would be shopping) and the kids. The corner shop as the destination for groceries died a death with the onslaught of the high street that was disseminated by the large grocers. And we all know that online retail was winning the battle of market share way before the pandemic hit.
So, the ability to shop from your kitchen table, your sofa, your sun lounger or wherever at whatever time suits you has turned many of our transactions into faceless purchases. But has it? Let’s take a look at how we purchase online. For groceries and other day essentials we often buy from a pre-ordered list, possibly clicking on recommendations or trying something new but often it is getting the task done in the quickest, easier way possible. We like to call this the ‘needs’ shop.
However, when it comes to other purchases – like fashion, home décor and other desirable consumables or the ‘desires’ shop – how often are we being influenced by people? Look at the websites of those fashion houses or home stores – styled to the max to sell the dream. It is still using the pull of the personal – allowing you to imagine you or your home could look like this. And like the grocer of the old days, those friendly cookies are memorising those things you have brought before, clicked on and saved in your basket but perhaps put back. Personalising your journey.
Now we have gone one step further. As well as buying the dream retailers have brought sponsored posts with influencers to show real homes and real people wearing and living in their goods. Personalising the dream even more. So far from taking the human out of the customer journey we have replaced it with a more real environment - someone’s real home or a real person wearing the clothes in their day-to-day life. And this customer journey is getting shorter and shorter. From seeing a product on Instagram, you no longer need to swipe up and click a link to a website to buy but can buy direct from your favourite blogger.
What does this mean for those of us working in marcoms? Does it mean the influencer remains king or queen? It certainly means we need to understand who our audience are watching and listening to. It also means we need to have conversations with those who influence about our products and services. But it also means we need to think about our own brand ambassadors. As real people become the go to for customer inspiration, or at least their social media personas, then how do we create this for our brands?
Way back Dove started their campaign for Real Women using models that represented a variety of different body shapes, ages and colours. This diversity across our marketing is now nothing new; nor is using real people in campaigns. Some tried the character route with Aleksandr Orlov the Compare the Market merkcat and remember the Churchill dog? Yet these characters although highly successful from an awareness point of view, don’t influence the way that social media stars do. And other brands used the employee advocate card – think Howard in the Halifax adverts.
Where we move to next is up for grabs. Yet we believe having lived virtually in each other’s homes for the last 18 months the move will continue with real people sharing their likes, dislikes, purchases and style. However, with consumers becoming more and more savvy and desperate for new content, paid for and sponsored posts will feel too much of a hard sell. So rather than influencers who are paid to post sponsored posts and make their living from promoting press shows, we think it will be Joe Average that will make the largest impact. That means marcoms departments will become the observer of their campaigns rather than the instigator. And their role instead of creating a campaign will be to catch it and maximise it. So, sourcing those posts that tag your product and optimising its reach. That way it will remain authentic, credible and real.
Photo with thanks by unsplash.com/UX Indonesia