Given all these facts, we come to the digital consumer or consumer 4.0, who should be the target of your marketing actions.
The majority of these consumers are millennials , people born between the 1980s and 1990s, the generation that felt first-hand the avalanche of transformations brought about by the evolution of digital technologies.
However, the cultural impacts of technology are not limited to this group. In fact, people of all ages are present on the Internet and their behavior reflects the phenomena predicted by Marketing 4.0.
This means that the digital consumer transcends generations, although some aspects are more important among young people. Below, learn about their main characteristics.
1. Demanding
This feature can be seen as a legacy of nigeria phone number list marketing 3.0. This consumer is not convinced by good products and services: they expect their favourite brands to inspire, reflect their values and act in favour of important causes.
In the context of marketing 4.0, consumers are becoming even more demanding, as they have the help of a series of tools to monitor and demand attitudes from companies. In addition, the enormous availability of alternatives on the market greatly increases their bargaining power.
2. Curious
The modern consumer never lets a single doubt pass by.
Yes, you scan the web looking for reviews, testimonials and other arguments that prove the relevance and quality of what you want to buy . But that’s just the tip of the iceberg !
Users consult Google several times a day for different reasons, from the most banal to the most complex. It is precisely this ease of finding solutions that arouses people’s curiosity.
3. Interactive
In the past, corporate communication content marketing phrases was generally one-way. Companies promoted their messages in the media and people passively consumed this content.
Today, consumers have the opportunity to interact directly with their brands’ posts, actively participating in their performance and impact.
However, it is important to note that people do not simply criticize or praise companies for the value inherent in those attitudes; once they truly enjoy participating and expressing themselves on the Internet.
4. Independent
Finally, we have independence as a key asb directory element to understand consumer behavior in the digital age and the success of many companies in recent years.
The new generations are anxious, have no patience for ads and like to solve their problems intuitively, without too many steps.
When we think about digital accounts, delivery apps, and even e-commerce, it’s easy to understand what people really appreciate about these services.
In a nutshell, what they deliver is agility, convenience and autonomy – that is, they are simplified ways of solving problems that used to require much more time, effort and sometimes money.
What are the trends of this new consumer profile?
The new consumer is already shaping the activity of many companies. Taking into account the major changes that have marked the market in recent years, we have come up with some interesting trends. Check them out!
Focus on customer experience
Advertising still has a lot of value, but experience is the new lifeblood of business. Amidst a universe of content and offerings, people are naturally drawn to companies that provide the best experience in every aspect: product, values, communication, service, etc.
The Internet is now mobile
Mobile devices are the main form of internet access in the world. This means that if you do not adapt your communication channels to this form of access, your impact is likely to be much smaller.
The consumer is omnichannel
Being omnichannel means offering a single experience across multiple different channels. People use multiple devices throughout the day such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs, etc. For this reason, it is essential that your platforms can integrate all these accesses efficiently.
In businesses that operate online and offline, such as locally-serving stores and e-commerce sites, this principle should be adopted. Customers should have the option, for example, to buy on the website and pick up the products in the store.
The customer has power
Digital consumers like to be in control of their decisions. This means that companies need to provide options and tools for people to manage their products or their decision-making independently.
Humanizing is a necessity
Overly formal language and corporate terms are becoming a thing of the past. Since the main goal is to create links and generate a genuine relationship with the audience, the ideal is to opt for a light, but above all, humanized conversation.
How to structure a marketing strategy for the digital consumer?
Gathering all the information described throughout the article, we can say that some practices are essential for your company to achieve a prominent position in the digital age. Check them out!
Know and understand your buyer persona
A buyer persona is a representation of your ideal customer, and its description should cover your audience’s habits, desires, pains, and values. Of course, your company may have several buyer personas, depending on the data you collect.
This specificity not only allows us to segment our marketing actions to deliver personalized experiences, but also helps us better understand people. As brands and customers are getting closer, empathy has become an essential element.
Invest in a content strategy
Having a strong digital presence is essential in a society that spends more and more time in the virtual world. However, this effort goes far beyond creating a website and a social media profile; it is necessary to adopt a strategy to position yourself in the right way.
Content marketing is gaining attention all over the world as it acts directly on the Google phenomenon and is one of the most effective ways to increase the reach of a brand’s authority today .
Build a relationship with your audience
While digital consumers use ad blockers and skip most of the ads in the videos they watch, they are more open to interacting with their favorite brands.
There are several ways to create connections with your audience, but, given the current situation, we see that the most successful companies in this regard are those that embrace causes that are highly relevant to their audience and incorporate their values into a large movement.
Act actively on social networks
Continuing with relationship practices, we have social networks as one of the most powerful instruments of this construction. Brands must interact, converse openly, initiate and participate in discussions , in short, insert themselves, in fact, in the universe of their audience.
These platforms are also described as an evolution of SAC , as many consumers already use them to resolve queries and problems. It is up to companies to invest in specialized equipment to carry out this work perfectly.
Optimize the experience across your channels, products and services
Experience is the great demand of the modern consumer. People expect companies to offer value , that is, to demonstrate that they are much more than mere providers of products or services.
In this scenario, Kotler mentions the so-called “ wow factor ” , an expression used to illustrate the feeling that the customer enjoys when a brand exceeds their expectations.
In this sense, the Customer Success department comes into play , whose main objective is to work on the entire experience that your company offers, from the first contact to after-sales service, focusing on the satisfaction and success of your client.
What to expect from the consumer of the future?
If the 4.0 consumer requires many changes in the work that many companies do, what would you say about a 5.0 consumer? There are already some articles pointing out the possible particularities of the customers of the future, although we still do not have a very clear direction on the subject.
The thought exercise is valid because if there is one thing we can really say, it is that the world will continue to change.
The gaps between major changes in the market and in marketing are becoming shorter and shorter, and perhaps this is the most important lesson for companies to understand: there is no finish line!
If society, the economy, technology and digital consumer behaviour are constantly changing, your business must also adopt a pace of change.
Have you been inspired by these ideas and want to learn more about marketing? Then download our ebook on digital marketing 3.0 right now and find out how marketing actions can take your business results to the next level.