MICRO MOMENTS: CRACKING THE AUDIENCE PSYCHE
‘A business becomes a brand when it can penetrate the audience mindset’
We all know this. But, how to crack the customer’s mind? The answer lies in MICRO-MOMENTS.
Suppose person A faces a weird stomach pain. Now, there could be 4 stages through which the patient will transition
1. A cannot understand what the problem is and looks online or asks people what the same could be (WANT TO KNOW)
2. Can understand that it could be acid reflux and wants to take some self-precautionary measures at home (WANT TO DO)
3. Can realize that an appointment is necessary and hence look for clinics (WANT TO GO)
4. Already knows 2–3 gastro specialists and books an appointment with one (WANT TO BUY)
Simply put, faced with a situation, there could be 4 psychological phases/consumer mind stages– WANT TO KNOW, TO DO, TO GO, TO BUY. These are nothing but the four fundamental micro-moments of a usual customer while executing any buying action.
In our last two episodes, we highlighted how developing unique content should be at the heart of any marketing strategy and how to strategize the same content in steps to engage the TG, filter them into prospects, and warm them enough to convert into leads (the content funnel).
In short, they were more about YOU.
Now, let’s talk about THEM. AND, most importantly, how to frame the right content to satisfy each of the above consumer psychology stages or micro-moments!
(*P.S. Micro-moments are not necessarily hierarchical levels. They represent the mindsets or intents a user usually has while consuming content during an online/offline buying process)
The Digital Influence
Decades back, buyer journeys were simple. Customers either got business cards (like we mentioned) or looked up the directory to call a firm that satisfies a need or got influenced by seeing large print ads (hoardings, TV, Radio, newspapers, etc).
Summing up, there were three broad-level STOPS that usually satisfied queries of customers before buying — visiting/business cards being circulated hand to hand, directories for calling up, or print ads in newspapers-TV-radio-hoardings.
However, things turned complex with the internet or digital revolution. Over 4.57 billion people are on the internet and around 3 billion smart phone users; today the majority chunk of any business’ (online or offline) audience is digitally influenced.
There are millions of websites available to any segment of the consumer, offering a thousand different User Experience touch-points that have complicated the psychological steps that any consumer goes through between searching and fulfilling a need.
A simple example, the consumer of yesteryears would just inquire through the above modes and make a decision. However, the digitally informed customer of today would search a product online, acquire knowledge from multiple sources on the product’s features, perform competitor analysis, dig down into product reviews, look for demo trials and customer appointments, expect offers and discounts better than competitors, and finally make a purchase decision. Even if the resultant purchase is done offline, online research and decision-making are done increasingly for the same. This has made the micro-moments universe pretty complex adding micro-moments like ‘I want to compare’ , ‘ I want to experience’ and moreover customer journey is no longer linear and he/she can start from anywhere and skip any as per his need
There are a lot of activities, questions, and hence psychological processes being performed even before an inquiry is made.
However, there are always two sides to a coin.
While the digital revolution has disrupted buying journeys, it has also made it much easier for firms to connect with prospects, analyze audience behaviors, and hence frame a user-oriented content strategy.
Interested?
Let’s dive in. Here are 4 interesting ‘content stories’ reflecting the four major micro-moments mentioned a while ago.
I WANT TO KNOW MICROMOMENT
Resonating on the term, this micro-moment captures the phase when any user is in ‘research mode’. The person does have intent, has been engaging with a lot of brand communications, and want to gain more knowledge that satisfies the intent.
At this moment, the user hasn’t made a purchasing decision yet but considering the in-built interest, the right content would not only satisfy the ‘knowledge need’ but also do a bit more.
Take the following for example.
What do you do if you are planning a vacation and don’t know where to travel? Well, you Google up ‘Best Places to travel in XYZ’. As soon as you do that, a flurry of blogs comes out citing a 50–100 odd list with boring details.
Though the websites have done a good job ranking for that keyword, these epoch-long boredom never convert or do justice to a user.
This is what a special travel and hostel company did. They ranked for those keywords, but instead of boring details, they told TRAVEL STORIES.
No, and not just any travel story.
See below!
Not just humor, they have some ‘mysterious’ stuff too.
And yes, you guessed it right! These stories are actually from real user experiences.
To summarize, they not only created content infused with keywords to enable people to satisfy their knowledge. They also developed unique stories to engage the consumer minds and establish brands and turn them into possible leads.
I WANT TO DO MICROMOMENT
This micro-moment is action-oriented. At this juncture, the user is already acquainted with first level knowledge and is eager to take action.
While on the surface, the intent is more pronounced towards a purchase, satisfying the need of this audience category could be a bit harder since now the user would look for results.
For instance, an aspiring home chef would love to watch a tutorial video on a specific continental dish. Note: This isn’t the regular research mode where the user is searching for anything related to a subject. Here, the cook already knows what he/she is doing and wants to watch a video to perform a specific action.
Talking of explanation videos for an I WANT TO DO MICROMOMENT, a great way to build engaging content is to create ‘How to’ video sessions on YouTube that link back to the brand website. Example: ‘How to build an engaging website?’ or ‘How to cook Pizza at Home?’
The following would clarify further.
One of the leading paint brands has been addressing ‘How to’ questions in such a basic form that you can’t help but click on it.
Yes. Simplicity could just be the most appealing of all.
In another example, a YouTube channel did something ‘slight’ yet profound! For a ‘How to do Chicken Curry?’ query, the channel nudged audience to click on it by adding a ‘viewer numeric’ on the thumbnail. This builds authority and viewers look to consume the tutorial that has been watched such a high number of times! Look for yourself!
I WANT TO GO MICROMOMENT
Needless to blabber, this moment represents a more intent-driven phase where the user has researched the details, decided on an action, and is now looking for the ideal place to make a purchase.
Here the search is more refined and specific — best pizza store near me or top salon near me.
This is the last but one step before conversion and this is where you have to beat your peers.
Here are two of the brightest examples.
One of the biggest fast-food chains planned to do the ultimate trick on its competitor. Using geo-location ads (ads that would show to a user when the same is inside a designated area), the chain started offering special discounts whenever a customer landed near its competitor’s stores.
Hence, whenever a user searched for the competitor’s store to GO and landed there, this brand pulled back the audience to its store which was just a few blocks away.
Hilarious enough, this not only captured customers right at one of their highest buying intents but also was a ‘death knell’ to the competitor.
The second example is our very own dear Trivago! Perhaps compelled with the intense competition of travel aggregators and hence how to make the audience land on their web-pages, they came up with a better idea in itself!
Create a website or offering that becomes an aggregator for travel aggregators — Why GO TO or land on different websites to see all the hotels listed under them when there can be one unified place for the same with proper comparison analysis?
The resultant campaign captures one of the most intent-rich audience who would look for hotels in specific places they have already decided to travel to, compare the facilities, and the eventual pricing!
I WANT TO BUY MICROMOMENT
Hands down, this is the most intent-rich audience segment and just a step before the purchase is made. The user here knows exactly what he/she is searching for and needs assistance for the final purchase. In short, they already know the exact offering or product they need and where to look for the same, only to be delayed by a few uncertainties before the final purchase.
These factors could be discounts, reviews of the product, performance ratings, offering package/product model comparisons, or even user experience disconnects.
This is how content should be framed to crack/leverage the I WANT TO BUY micro-moments.
Conversational AI or Chatbots can be one of the best conversion optimizers on a brand website. The same can not only provide customer support, but also in reducing interim buyer journeys between the landing page and product page, assisting in faster product searches, surf through ratings and features, and also highlighting the offers.
Building chatbots with to-the-point, structured, and attractive conversational content paired with streamlined user experience could be the secret to transforming the rich intent of users to faster conversions.
The second example is a concept called ‘Impulse Buying’. Often, in brick and mortar stores, we find attractive looking chocolates, ice-creams right near the cash section. They are strategically placed to provoke customers to buy candy or goodie at the last moment while waiting behind a queue. When we have done a 75–100 dollar shopping, one-dollar chocolate or ice-cream, wouldn’t mind right?
On the digital front, the same holds when you go to purchase an item online and find recommended complementary products that others have also bought. Therefore, it’s always a great idea to have recommended products on your website along with ratings when a user has added an item/package to the cart.
This is leveraging I WANT TO BUY moments and the high audience intent at its best.
Conclusion
Here’s a secret.
As there is technically no end to behavioral complexity, the same goes for micro-moments. There can be hundreds of thousands of sub-moments and even deeper that branch out from the above four fundamental micro-moments.
That’s the reason why everything can’t be strategized. There are some content triggers or trends that could make brands rethink their promotional strategies. Hence, it’s imperative to look forward to these developments and remain active enough to leverage the same.
For instance, this current COVID-19 phase made us re-do all monthly campaign plans into ones that incorporated lockdown values, benefits, engagements, etc.
Are you interested to know more about these ‘dynamic content triggers’ to make your brand trendy and cool?
Just wait for a week; our next content marketing episode!
