The concept that customers are mysterious ethereal creatures who live in their own hyper-connected, complicated cyber world is widely held in the realm of marketing in the modern era. They speak a language that we do not comprehend, communicate in ways that we do not anticipate, and are causing disruptions in the marketing business, all of which contribute to the fact that they remain a mystery to us. These so-called “digital consumers” are difficult to pin down since they are always one step ahead of the marketer’s attempts to capture them. They say that individuals who purchase digital products are one of a kind, but is this really the case?
Consumers of digital media share their perspectives.
The very first thing regarding digital consumers that one needs to comprehend is the fact that they do not exist. The customers and potential purchasers with whom you engage in conversation online are the same people that come into your business, give you a call, or send you an order in the mail. They are not in any way sinister, mysterious, or even a little bit menacing in any way. They are simply average people who happen to have human bodies.
There is “no great mystery” surrounding the mentality of today’s digital consumers, according to Giles Rhys Jones of Interactive Marketing Trends, who claims that there is “no great mystery” in his piece titled “The Illusion of the Internet Consumer.”
These consumers are conversing with one another, which is something that people have done for hundreds of years.
The fact that technology is making it possible for people to connect with one another more quickly, over greater distances, via mobile devices, and in 3D surroundings has led to the perception that it is something risky, strange, and remarkable that needs to be regulated and pinned down. Conversation is something that people have done from the beginning of time. The only difference is that now they might be speaking to an audience of fifteen or five thousand people rather than just one or five people at a pub. They still use the same language and idioms.
Putting one’s own spin on the World Wide Web
Consumers, no matter what “flavour” they may be, could not care less about how marketers classify the work they do. They have no idea what we are talking about when we use phrases such as “above the line,” “through the line,” “below the line,” “digital,” “traditional,” “experiential,” “linear,” “analogue,” “mobile,” “direct,” “indirect,” or any of the other “boxes” that we use to organise our marketing efforts. Customers are solely interested in how the marketing they are shown will enhance their experience and help them make better choices. Nothing else matters to them.
The individuals who will be responsible for putting any given marketing strategy into action are among the most important components of any such approach.
That is valid in the sphere of digital research to the same extent that it is valid in any other field of research. Because consumer behaviour is changing as a direct result of the pervasive, emotive, and enabling nature of digital technology, the concept of the “digital consumer” can help you achieve exactly that. If you are a marketer, you are aware of how important it is to understand your target demographic, and the concept of the “digital consumer” can help you achieve that.
In an editorial he penned for Chief Marketer, Dave Friedman, president of Avenue A | Razorfish’s central region, said, “The majority of today’s consumers are actively personalising their digital experiences and consuming niche content and video with more regularity.”
Friedman believes that “we have achieved a collective digital tipping point” as a result of the fact that the great majority of customers are now making use of a variety of developing technologies in addition to social media in order to create highly individualised digital experiences. Using tools like as recommendation engines, blogs, and customised start pages, the modern “connected consumer” navigates an environment that is significantly more specialised and individual than we had anticipated.
The practice of broadcasting generic advertising messages to the general market is quickly being replaced by marketing practices that are narrowly targeted and specifically targeted through the use of digital channels to interact with an ever-increasingly diverse and fragmented market. Last but not least, even if it’s just to yourself. We are able to form long-lasting connections with each of our customers that are uniquely tailored to them thanks to the adoption of digital marketing. Do not anticipate hearing a lecture; rather, participate in the conversation that will be going on. In this day and age, marketing is more of a conversation than a monologue; it requires just as much listening as it does talking on the part of the marketer.
There is a significant knowledge gap between the two of us.
On the internet, no one can possibly tell that you are a dog, right? The sense of anonymity that users have while browsing the internet is one of the characteristics of the internet that has the potential to significantly influence the behaviour of consumers. As a result of this innovation, customers can be themselves without having to worry about the repercussions that will occur in “real life.” Customers shopping in a physical store will typically hold their patience while waiting for assistance and tolerate conditions that are less than ideal in order to purchase the items that they desire. If you want to keep them as customers, you need to make sure that whenever they log on to your website, they are met with the kind of seamless service that lives up to their expectations and that they rightfully deserve. It is imperative that it be delivered promptly and accurately when the promise is made. They will leave just as quickly as they arrived, taking nothing with them other than a single entry in your server logs if you are unable to maintain their interest and provide them with what they want when they want it. They would then proceed to vent their frustrations about the subpar service they had received to everyone they knew on the internet.
Personalities that are representative of the typical person who uses the internet
When it comes to road rage, everyone is familiar with the old analogy about the friendly neighbour who, as soon as they get behind the wheel, transforms into a crazed driver. The instantaneousness and anonymity of the digital experience have the same effect on people.
In a field as fluid and rapidly evolving as this one, it is essential to avoid making broad generalisations and assumptions about people’s characteristics and behaviours. Conducting primary research among people who fit the profile of your ideal customer is the one and only way to acquire a complete understanding of your market. On the other hand, a significant amount of research has been done (and is still being done) on the characteristics of online shoppers, and a consensus has emerged on the following characteristics that are distinctive of the contemporary digital consumer:
First, those who shop online are becoming accustomed to the process.
Although most people who use the internet are still under the age of 35, an increasing number of people over the age of 65 are learning their way around the web.
It’s kind of like how a pianist, after getting used to the instrument, might start playing at a faster tempo. An expert on the usability of the web named Jacob Nielsen once explained to the BBC that users “pling, pling, pling” attentively at first, but eventually advance to playing symphonies. Your content needs to provide what consumers want, and it needs to deliver quickly because as people become more familiar with the medium, they utilise it more efficiently and effectively, which means that they don’t stick around for as long as they once did.
Second, they insist on receiving instant gratification for every one of their desires.
The pace of the digital world moves at a breakneck speed, and consumers are expected to keep up.
have developed a habit of receiving information instantly from a variety of sources. Because they place such a high value on their time, they look for information that can be quickly skimmed in order to extract the most important points before delving more deeply into a subject. Developers and
When developing their goods and services, Internet marketers should keep “scannability” and instant gratification at the forefront of their minds.
It is essential to take into account the costs, both monetary and in terms of time.
Thirdly, they have every aspect of the situation under control.
The internet cannot be considered a passive medium in any way, shape, or form. Users have more power than they ever have had before in the era of Web 2.0. If you are unable to accept it, the people who are supposed to listen to what you have to say will do more than just ignore you; they will actively stop caring about what you have to say. If you want your marketing efforts to be successful, you need to design them so that they are centred on the requirements of the end user, have some kind of opt-in or permission-based system, and offer real value to the customer.
Fourthly, they are capable of rapidly shifting their opinions.
The accessibility and promptness of the internet work to erode consumers’ brand and vendor loyalty, but they do not completely eradicate it.
Even though consumers still place a high value on brand trust in digital marketing, they now have the ability to instantly research and evaluate a wide variety of brands from the palm of their hand. How does your product or service stack up against those of competitors locally, nationally, and internationally? It is essential to have a powerful brand identification; however, if the value of your offering is lower than that of the competition, you will not succeed.
They have a lot of conversations.
People who do their shopping online typically have a lot of conversations with one another. Through the use of peer reviews, blogs, social networks, online forums, and communities, they are sharing both the positive and negative aspects of their experiences with using the internet with one another. If you make the most of the opportunities this presents, the potential for your message to spread across the internet is enormous; however, if you make any mistakes, you run the risk of being the target of a negative reaction on the internet. This presents something of a conundrum from the perspective of marketing.
