there has been a major shift in the way consumers interact with the brands and businesses they buy from.
The days of walking into a store to consult with a sales representative face-to-face about a potential purchase are quickly fading away, while the demand for online customer service chat features and mobile-friendly e-commerce sites skyrocket.
Consumers now have the entire world at their fingertips. With just a few taps of a screen, they can read product reviews, conduct cost comparisons, and avail of free shipping— making the traditional shopping experience more cumbersome by the minute.
Should business owners be threatened by this deviation? Not exactly.
But they certainly should start meeting customers where they already are— on the web.
And the good news? All the conventional sales strategies and customer service best practices still apply. It’s the method of delivery that’s changed.
Today, 74 per cent of Canadian shoppers begin their shopping journey online, whether it’s conducting a Google search for the product they are interested in, clicking on an Instagram ad that sparks their interest, or using Google maps to find a hair salon near where they live.
No matter the action, the fact remains clear— shopping now begins on the world wide web.
This is why it’s so crucial for brands to be in control of the content potential customers see when they take the first step in their online shopping experience.
the impact OF content on an CONSUMERS decision to buy:
71 per cent of consumers say they are less likely to buy if they feel a company’s content is too “sales pitch-y”.
84 per cent of buyers say they regularly access business-related content on their smartphone.
90 per cent of B2B buyers say online content greatly influences their purchasing decisions.
Small businesses with blogs get 126 percent more lead growth than small businesses who don’t have a blog.
On average, conversion rates are six times higher for companies and brands using content marketing than those that aren’t.
Content marketing costs 62 percent less, and generates approximately 3x more leads than traditional marketing strategies.
Statistics like these show just how effective and lucrative content marketing can be.
The key, however, is ensuring that your content is purpose-driven, expertly-crafted, and strategically implemented.
The more tailored your content is to your ideal customer, and the more it is designed to convince potential buyers to act, the more your bottom line will rise.
And in business, the bottom line is the deciding factor in why anything matters.