Sunday, November 4, 2007

89% of Consumers Shop Online for Information


Advergirl has cited a few interesting facts on her blog about consumers online shopping behaviors from Comscore. According to Comscore, 89% of consumers shop online for product information before making a purchasing decision at a brick and mortar. This seems a bit high to me but still the fundamental idea behind it is very intersting.

These numbers seem to show a seismic shift in consumers behaviors and it only reinforces the notion that brand equity on the web is as important now than ever.

The new consumer model seems to reflect that purchase decisions start on the web and end as offline purchases in-store. What does this mean? It means it is more important than ever, to integrate online and offline brand strategies. Campaigns that are not integrated run the risk of disconnecting the consumer from the brand's equity and losing the purchase.

How does a brand successfully keep its story consistent through all the various channels today? First, it should decide early on the narrative it wants to tell and make it compelling. A compelling story will inspire buzz and reverberate into further social circles and that means increased penetration. Second it should assign the task of brand police to someone who has been on the team since the beginning. Its important that your policeman knows the narrative and can help to inform the rest of your company. There are many other steps and custom processes to branding yourself but these are a good start.

It may seem daunting but with proper planning and a little legwork and research your brand can translate its message into a great story and not risk losing the battle in the new market.

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