If you’ve never heard of the Consumer Decision Journey, then taking a look at McKinsey & Company’s Consumer Decision Journey chart will be helpful:
In a three-part series, we’ll break down this chart and explain how an advertising agency like us plays into the process of driving sales.
We start part one on the left, with the trigger and initial consideration set.
The concept of a trigger is simple: Something happens that creates a need. Examples could be a flat tire creating a need for a tow truck, or opening your refrigerator to realize you’re out of eggs.
The initial consideration set is made up of brands the person recognizes and may have a level of trust for. It’s a limited set; no person will immediately think of all the brands and choices there are for a need.
Quick: You need a new car.
What car brands just popped in your brain?
Those names, plus one or two that you may think about in a few minutes, represent the initial consideration set. You may have intentionally excluded a particular brand because of price, previous experience, or because it doesn’t fit your preferred style.
Even if the brand DOES have something that fits your style/price/etc., if you don’t think about it, then it doesn’t matter. The brand is out of the Initial Consideration set, and that dramatically reduces the chances of the customer buying a particular product.
Now, what does that mean for advertisers? Everything.
The average person is subjected to a lot of ads throughout the day. The figure depends on browsing tendencies online, and what TV/radio channels or other media they watch. But it numbers in the hundreds.
When a person finds a need, they sort through the clutter of those ads and their own personal experiences to come up with that Initial Consideration Set list. As McKinsey&Company report, those on the list are 3x more likely to be the final purchase.
Effective advertising relates your product or brand to specific needs a consumer has, and does it in a way that makes it stand out.
That’s where our expertise comes in. We know how to leverage radio, television, digital marketing (via Google AdWords, Bing Ads, SEO, and social media), graphic design, and animation in a variety of ways to cut through the advertising clutter and make your message stand out.
In addition, a unified campaign that brings multiple advertising channels into the plan strengthens your ability to get your message to the target audience. Seeing a TV commercial followed by a Google display ad three days later is effective – with similar brand messaging, it’s powerful.
Contact us with any questions!
For part two in the series, please click here. For part three, click here.
