Acquisition and the consumer mindset 2018

Our new research, sponsored by Pure360, examines the relationship between members of the public and brands during that moment when customers, in the middle of their decision-making process, ask themselves: “Should I stick with what I know or I try something new?”

Confirming previous survey results, we find that consumers generally stick to brands they know: when making new purchases, only 24% of people would consider retailers they haven’t used before. However, when they decide to cheat on their brands, they do not only look at convenience. Indeed, quality and time-saving benefits are the new must-have if you want to attract new prospects.

Moreover, consumers are more active than we may think when they receive marketing: after receiving an interesting message they tend to find an alternative route to the brand itself (i.e. 48% go through the company website). In other words, they prefer doing their own research rather than necessarily clicking on marketing links.

Email and post are the most preferred marketing channels. Moreover, according to Chair of the Customer Engagement Committee & MD at ReaD Group Insight, Scott Logie, said “For younger age groups, social media is clearly having an impact and performs well in terms of both trust and relevancy, despite some unfavourable press. One advantage social media has is the time to get the message across is very low and consumers clearly value brevity and clarity.”

However, bear in mind to keep your content simple and relevant: 38% see easy to understand information as a good starting point to create trust in the marketing messages they receive.

The majority of customers (90%) are aware of the GDPR. Consequentially, treating and using their data ethically will reinforce their trust towards brands and marketing communications.

But we have many more insights for you. Read on to learn how:

• 73% of customers like flexible contracts and subscriptions, as long as they offer to consumers control and convenience
• The interest for smart voice assistants hasn’t increased since 2017 and customers are reluctant sharing data with brands behind these smart assistants
• Chatbots leave consumers divided, with almost half of them not interested in using these tools
• VR and AR caught the attention of consumers (50%), in particular young generations, but only in certain circumstances

Komal Helyer, Marketing Director at Pure360, adds: “Any degree of scepticism amongst today’s consumers when it comes to how marketers are trying to build connections with them can always be fended off by consistently delivering relevance and value. Your customers will thank you for it, and the business will benefit from it“.

Dive into our report and enjoy the view through your customers’ eyes.

Acquisition and the consumer mindset

To find out more about this research and the fusion of data, technology and creativity, why not come along to our flagship Customer Engagement 2018 event on 18 September. Find out more here: https://dma.org.uk/event/customer-engagement-2018