The world is changing rapidly and so are consumers. The digital devices and platforms have changed the way people live significantly, and it will continue to do so.
If you sell something for a living, you will have to deal with the modern customers.
And here are the 5 consumer behaviour trends that you should keep in mind.
1. Mobile First
Mobile phone has become an integrated and a crucial part of our lives. We feel as if it is our organ.
Do you feel naked if you go to work without your mobile phone?
Check out these stats
- The number of smartphone users worldwide has increased from 2.5 billions in 2016 to 3.5 billion in 2020 (increased by 40%). source
- An average person spends 2 hours and 51 minutes per day on their mobile device. What’s more, 22% of us check our phones every few minutes, and 51% of users look at it a few times per hour. source
Businesses that leverage this opportunity are more likely to thrive.
For example, look at TikTok. The platform is built solely for mobile users. Yet, it managed to get 800 millions active users worldwide within 4 years and is the most downloaded app on Apple store.
Tik Tok leverages the experience of the video with aspect ratio of a standard smartphone screen, where users can swipe up and down to move between the videos.
It combines two of the top trending consumer behaviour in this article, mobile experience and video (more or that later). As a result, it is no longer a question of whether TikTik is here to stay, it is now how much further TikTok will continue to grow.
Let’s also look at Google
- More than 50 percent of search queries globally now come from mobile devices. Google.
- Globally, more than 70% of watchtime happens on mobile devices Source: Google data, Global, Apr – Jun 2018, Mobile includes mobile devices and tablets.
The latest Google Algorithm update favours mobile experience. Mobile friendly websites are likely to be ranked higher on Google.
With the help of machine learning and its algorithm, Google now prioritises search intent rather than just keywords alone. When users search on mobile, their intent is likely to be taking an action.
Mobile users are more likely to be in the buying mode. For example, you want to find a nice restaurant to eat, you bring up your phone and you put in ‘restaurant near me’. Restaurant with Google My Business page will show up, while some that don’t will miss out.
You check out where they are, you have a look at their pictures of food, vibes and menu. You like it. You click to call to make a reservation or you click Get Direction. All of these are easily done on mobile.
If you want your website to show up and get some sales, think mobile first.
2. Need More Speed
New technologies are getting faster and faster everyday. Businesses need to keep up with the pace if they want to be where customers are.
Your website needs to load faster. Your delivery service must be faster. If you can’t provide that, then you will lose customers.
Your content also needs to be faster
Never have we ever lived in a day and age where people’s attention span is extremely short. With more content being published all the time, you don’t really have much time to convince them to read on.
- Over 4.4 million blog posts were published every day. source
- 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute! source
- 95 million photos and videos are shared on Instagram per day. source
Clearly, the platforms are flooded with all these content. If you don’t make your message clear in the first few seconds, your audience will move on.
YouTube introduced the 6 second video bumper ad, and 30-seconds True-view ads where users can skip after 5 seconds, for you to get in front of customers.
5-6 seconds… that’s all the time you have to deliver your message. It needs to be fast-pace, emotional, memorable and straight to the point.
People prefer short and concise videos to consume. Which is why Tik Tok is on the rise. Facebook and Instagram stories are seen more than the posts in the feed. This leads me to the next point.
3. Rise of Video
Video is one of the, if not, the most easily digested content.
If you were to learn to cook something, would you rather follow the instructions from a book or watch an instruction video steps by steps?
Think about how Tasty were able to grow their audience very quickly. They are known for their fast and easy-to-follow cooking demonstration videos.
- Almost 5 billion videos are watched on Youtube every single day. source
- 87% of video marketers say video has increased traffic to their website. source
- 80% of video marketers say video has directly helped increase sales. source
This is because video is more engaging, hence, more memorable. It engages with the users’s sense of vision, hearing and emotions.
Even though the broadcast TV is in decline, people are still streaming video online on their SMART TV and electronic devices.
Facebook also favours videos as videos are more likely to get more reach, views and engagements.
Facebook also allows advertises to retarget audience whom have watched their videos, whereas they won’t be able to do so with a normal post, article or images.
Videos are also easily transformable. Some people just prefer to listen to it, which in this case you can transform your video into an audio experience like podcast, or if your customers prefer to read, you can also transcribed into a blog post.
Therefore, video is worth investing the time in.
4. Personalised Experience Only
According to OneSpot, about 45% of consumers won’t spend time with branded content if it’s not relevant to them.
With all the modern tools and data, customers deserve to get what is relevant to them.
Big brands like Google, YouTube and Amazon are doing this very well. They have the section ‘People also ask’ or ‘People also bought’ or similar to enhance consumers’ experience, which leads to more sales and conversions.
As I mentioned in the other blog post about human connection, people want to feel appreciated. By providing them with personalised experience, they will feel that they are valuable and they matter to you.
This is how your business stands out, be different in the market. This is how you will be remembered in customer’s mind.
5. Education is the New Selling
With all the easily-accessed information on the internet, consumers are now more conscious than ever before buying anything.
We’re living in the world full of scams and gurus who are looking to trick and prey on innocent buyers. Hence, it takes more than just a few ads and messages for customers to trust brands.
No longer can you tell customers to ‘buy this because you need this’. You need to educate them about how your product or service works and how it is going to help them.
“People don’t want to be sold to, they want to be educated.”
– Anthony Robbins
Brand needs to keep educating customers and helping them achieve whatever problems customers are experiencing. The more valuable information you give it them, the more likely they are going to buy from you.
For example, let’s look at one of the fast-growing brand Russell Brunson’s ClickFunnels. ClickFunnels grew Into a $100-Million business in just 5 years. Source
One of the ways that they were able to achieve this is by encouraging users to watch educational videos from Russell Brunson. These videos educate viewers on why landing pages and funnels are important and more effective than a website, and how ClickFunnels is the solution to their problem.
If the user watches all the videos, they will be more educated by at then, hence, more likely to become a loyal customers of ClickFunnels.
It is about becoming their go-to expert, so they come to you whenever their have a burning problem, because they know you and they trust you.
“Educate today, so you will be remembered tomorrow.”
– HubSpot
Wrapping it all together
Businesses need to be where customers are rather than trying to move them to where you want them to be. This is why it is important to know these trends.
Whenever you are doing a businesses plan, we need to think about (your ideal) customers first, because they’re the money making machine for your company to survive and thrive.
By being there wherever your customers are, you will expose yourself to more opportunities, leads, sales and revenues.
Keep an eye on these digital platforms because they are the one that has your customers. They value their users more than advertisers. Everything they do is to improve their users experience.
Key takeaways
- Mobile first website
- Make sure that your message is fast and clear
- Video first
- Use the tools to deliver the right message and content for your customers
- If they don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you
Neil Krikul
Neil is currently a Digital Marketer in Hobart, Tasmania. His mission is to become the best version of himself to inspire and provide values to those around him.
Great insight Niel!
Thanks Kosta!
Comments are closed.