Technology and millions of micro-moments
Nowadays we live in a society where mobile phones are like another limb of our body. In this device we have our whole life: photos, reminders, alarms, notes, events, even people with whom we only keep in touch through the smartphone.
We live waiting for messages, notifications, calls… Therefore, due to the great importance it has in people’s lives, the mobile phone is one of the biggest potential sources that influence and interfere in people’s daily
lives.
I’m interested in how and when brands can influence and connect positively with the user. What are the moments in which marketers can participate? How to prepare for those moments?
Micro-moments in our daily life
Micro-moments are the moments when we turn to a device, often a smartphone, to take action on whatever we need or want right now. They are happening in every moment in life. When we are waiting at the train station, when we have five minutes break, when we post a photo on social media or when we text a message. Micro-moments have become the footsteps that lead people to your store or desktop site.
I think this article is interesting for my learning in this subject because it approaches marketing from a different perspective. Previously, I thought of marketing as attracting consumers at later stages and in targeted advertising. But after reading this article I have learned that “downtime”, these micro-moments that every person with a smartphone has, are the key to directly or indirectly introduce marketing. But it has to be direct and easy marketing. Is something that goes directly to meet the needs of consumers in every moment, in every thought and in every idea. In other words, anticipate and act before the consumer goes for it. Ignite the desire and give the tools to satisfy it.
Think about all the ways consumers use mobile to connect with the brands. They tend to look for prices, sizes, or reviews. Or they look to get store directions, download an app, or call a business directly. These are critical micro-moments to measure. Consumers move seamlessly across many devices in route to conversion, so credit can’t just be given to the device in use when the “buy” button was clicked because that undervalues mobile’s role.
I-want-to-know, I-want-to-go, I-want-to-buy, and I-want-to-do moments
People are more loyal to their need in the moment than to any particular brand. There are three important key elements for succeeding in a micro-moment world: Provide useful information, presence and quickly solutions. These I-want-to-know, I-want-to-go, I-want-to-buy, and I-want-to-do moments are loaded with intent, context, and immediacy.
How to know if a brand has online presence? There are few steps you can check if your brand is succeeding on the online world. First, grab your mobile device and perform some of the top searches relevant to your business category. Are you there? Do you like what you see? What about when you do the same for YouTube, or other platforms? Next, work with your agency or account team to obtain your brand’s own “share of intent” metric.
Evaluate that metric for category-relevant searches on both mobile and desktop, and see how you stack up against your key competitors. Chances are you’ll discover some gaps. Create a plan to close those gaps over time by boosting your ad coverage across a greater number of micro-moments and growing your share of intent. When you fail to be there, you are simply handing opportunities over to your competitors. Find those moments when you should be present, and take action.
Conclusions
I have learned that marketing is about anticipating needs with useful and effective information. Consumers want inspiration and once they have it, they want the easy way to go to them. That’s the role of marketing. To inspire, create need and bring them closer to brands, make the path easy for them and satisfy their needs.
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Consumer Behaviour. Micro-Moments: Your Guide to Winning the Shift to Mobile