“I should probably get these shoes…” I think to myself as I stare at those glorious-looking sports shoes in an online advert. And funny enough I wasn’t even browsing for these. In fact, I was reading about “how to prepare for a mini-marathon in 30 days”.
I had read that you first need to find your stride before making the leap when you start out with the training. Although your mind might say push it, your body will sort of want you to stop and stare…and breathe!
Secondly, you’re supposed to stay sober and strive even harder to stay in on Friday nights. Bless the will-power! And beat this, you’re supposed to say no to friends who insist on splurging and downing glasses of *insert the name of your favourite beverage here* unless they’re out there every morning training with you. So long as they’re not motivating you out there on the field, you’re staying home and making a playlist to keep you pumped on the day of the run.
Thirdly, you’re supposed to pick the right running gear, be it your clothes (these must be weather-appropriate) and your shoes (one must never run in a new pair of shoes, big no-no).
And the fourth point to remember for the marathon week is that you must get good rest, take ice baths, fill yourself up with carbs and keep yourself hydrated!
I had clicked on the third point when the ad of the sports shoes showed up taking me by surprise! I’ll admit that I have been shoe-gazing on numerous websites for a couple of weeks now – my current ones are old and need to be discarded with all due respect, for good. So, you can imagine what happened next? I caved. I gave in and bought the best running shoes on the planet at a discount which was such a steal I could probably buy two on a whim. Good thing is that my account does not permit all my “whims” from taking over my life. So, that’s sorted.
Know what else was sorted, because of the ad? The discomfort when running in my old pair and the fact that I didn’t have to go trying a zillion sports shoes at stores. In fact, I got the exact pair I had my eye on ever since the background score of the video ad (for the same shoes) had caught my attention. I always knew that adverts had to be creative and catchy, but ads today are so much more dynamic and personal. It’s almost as if they know my precise problem as a customer and address that in the most appropriate way possible. Brands/companies should know me well enough and their ads must be timed correctly to make me want to buy what they’re selling instantaneously!
“In 2017, take a holistic view of the customer journey and create a range of assets that matches the right ad to the right moment.” says Google
Customer insights can benefit brands in critical ways if used prudently. Even if it is one of the brands I ardently follow, for them to make me a paying patron, they will have to go the extra mile and get to know me better. No generic ad or fully-stocked shelves will entice consumers anymore. Today, my options as a consumer are plenty and I am not going to stick around for long if a brand does not “get me”. I’m fickle and I know it, so should brands/companies that want to sell. Brands must gather customer information, analyze it and inform its marketing and advertising teams about the customers’ needs and likes.
Google says that within 15 minutes of waking up, over 68% of smartphones users check their phones. And I most definitely am one of them! This means that smartphone users are one swipe or click away from ditching a brand and browsing on another brand’s website/app. The advancement of “digital” in everything around us, has opened a multitude of options for consumers today. Consumers will not restrict themselves to brands that “treat them like everyone else”. They want to feel “special” and appreciate “tailor-made” offers and discounts by coming back to brands that understand them well.
Customer insights can help brands/companies market to specific demographics thereby saving big bucks. Ad budgets can be focused on specific groups of people rather than having a big-budgeted generic advert plan for the whole country. Targeting a well-researched crowd to market to will mean that the crowd will include individuals who are most likely to convert. Imagine the CFO’s joy when the brand marketer comes back saying “Hey, the ad’s a hit and we saved some!”
Imagine the CFO’s joy when the brand marketer comes back saying “Hey, the ad’s a hit and we saved some!”
Brands and companies must note that today’s ever-evolving customer mindsets want exclusive services. Customers today also want what they want right when they want! Although this does not mean that I will stop watching videos online to take myself over to a brand’s website/app just because I remembered something that I needed. On the other hand, if I see a cool ad pop up exactly when I’m looking up something related, I’ll give in. And something tells me that many other consumers like me will appreciate the efforts taken by brands/companies to get to know them better.
Understand your end users with help of the customer intelligence engines that BPRISE deploys on your mobile and web applications. Generate long-term profitable results and learn what motivates customers to swipe their cards for your personalized recommendations. If you wish to gather relevant customer insights and get down to the nitty-gritty of what influences their purchase decisions, connect with BPRISE today!
