Is Your Marketing in the Right Place at the Right Time?

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Is Your Marketing in the Right Place at the Right Time?

Getting ads in front of your target audience at the right time is difficult. Pressing issues like the impending demise of the third-party cookie, tightening privacy regulations, and the growing number of multi-device omnichannel shoppers are forcing marketers to adapt and work smarter. Alter Agents CEO Rebecca Brooks writes for Forbes about how market research can help marketers navigate the new normal in her latest column, “Are You Marketing Where Shoppers Value it the Most?”

 

Our Shopper Influence Research explores where people turn for information before making a purchase and asks which sources were the most influential in making the final decision. The insights into sources and product information gathering give brands a good understanding of where they need to be, and when. We break it down into a simple equation: usage + influence = value. A source that’s valuable to the customer while they’re shopping is valuable to the marketer while they’re selling.

 

Usage matters for awareness.

Knowing where shoppers turn for information is the first step. Some of the work in figuring that out is intuitive, like promoting a hotel in Travel & Leisure magazine. But shoppers will always surprise us by consulting sources that aren’t immediately obvious, or changing their habits to ignore legacy publications in favor of new outlets. That’s why brands need to do their research and regularly update it as their target audiences shift.

Read more: How Today’s Shoppers Are Using Social Media


Influence matters for persuasion.

Knowing where your consumers are is one thing, but knowing which of those places are most influential is the other piece of the puzzle. Our research also explored which sources that are consulted during the shopping process mattered the most. Understanding which sources persuade shoppers helps marketers hone their content strategies by identifying which messages are the most effective when delivered in a specific place.

 

Usage + Influence = Value.

These pieces of consumer research make up our formula: usage + influence = value. It’s what Rebecca calls the “sweet spot” for brands to market their products. Those sources have the highest level of value to the brand because they’re the conduit for reaching and influencing the customer. These sources “should command the most investment, in budget and time” by brands looking to reach their shoppers. She concludes: “The highly competitive landscape demands nothing less.”

 

Need help understanding which sources offer your brand the most value? We can help get you there. 

Contact Us Today

 

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