Google Report: How COVID Has Changed Buying Habits
Remember when we ran out of toilet paper, bread makers, and bicycles? Or how two Tennessee brothers hoarded hand sanitizer in a get-rich quick scheme? Seems like a really bad dream, doesn’t it? Sadly it wasn’t, and it will definitely change the way that consumers consider and purchase your products and services.
Think with Google just released a report on COVID-19’s impact on the path to purchase (aka the effects the pandemic has had on consumer buying habits.) The report (shared below) is chock full of invaluable insights for marketers like me, but it’s also very technical and difficult to follow for the average small business owner, so I’ve chiseled out some of the main takeaways to make your life easier.
How COVID Has Changed Buying Habits
It’s no secret that the pandemic has changed the way consumers research and purchase products and services. Some of these changes may just be a temporary blip on the radar, but others may have a lasting impact on the way you attract, engage, and convert your customers for years to come.
It All Starts with the “Messy Middle”
Image courtesy of Think with Google
In a recent Think with Google article, the team outlined what they call the ‘Messy Middle’ - essentially a complicated web of information touchpoints and brand interactions to get a potential buyer closer to choosing your product or service.
When consumers perform their pre-purchase research, they switch between two mental modes:
Exploration
Evaluation
Exploration is called an expansive activity because a consumer is looking at all of the available information they can gather. In this mental mode, the consumer searches and finds a wealth of information and buying options. (Think when you search on Amazon and compare the similar-looking (or most likely same exact) product with different brand names.)
Evaluation, on the other hand, is known as a reductive activity. This is where consumers consider the information in front of them and begin to reduce their options, so they can land on a specific product or vendor. (Think when you compare product reviews on Amazon and go with the product that has the highest star rating.)
In the words of Think with Google:
Whatever a person is doing, across a huge array of online sources, such as search engines, social media, aggregators, and review websites, can be classified into one of these two mental modes. People loop through these twin modes of exploration and evaluation, repeating the cycle as many times as they need to make a purchase decision.
To put it another way, your prospective buyer might:
Realize their Air Conditioner window unit is broken
Go to YouTube to research “Best A/C Window Units”
See a YouTube ad for your Air Conditioner Website
Click to your website and poke around your pages to get a better idea if you’re trustworthy
Click to social media to see what people have said about you
Look at your online reviews
Revisit your site and add the A/C to their shopping cart
Does that sound familiar? You’ve probably been in the ‘Messy Middle’ more times than you can count. And after the pandemic, many of your potential customers find themselves switching between exploration and evaluation, too!
Some takeaways from google
After extensive research, Think with Google suggested that small business owners like you do the following:
Focus On Your Web Presence
Where the consumer bounces back and forth between evaluation and exploration, you need to create content and make it available and easy to find on your website and in Google search. Ways you can improve your web presence include:
Refresh your website to show the most important (and relevant) information to the buyer
Optimize your Website SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by updating your Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions
Make sure you have an SSL Certificate to provide a safe and secure website experience
Create blog posts and new landing pages to highlight information about your products and services
Add your reviews directly on your website to keep buyers on your site when they’re evaluating
Before you tackle updating your website (or consider rebuilding), watch this quick video we made for you:
Invest In Omnichannel Capabilities
Sounds fancier than it is. Specifically, Google says you should:
Continue growing your online reviews (and product reviews if you have a shopping cart)
Create videos to establish rapport with your buyers and help them to imagine seeing/touching/smelling the product in-store
Offer faster, more convenient ways to pay (Credit Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, or PayPal)
Offer Delivery and/or Curbside Pickup for added convenience
Have questions or don’t know where to start? Connect and Learn with Bryan and his team.