Have you ever found yourself researching the specifications of a product you saw advertised? Or perhaps you’ve suddenly realized you need to purchase groceries while stuck in traffic. Congratulations, you have experienced what the marketing industry refers to as “micro-moments.” These snippets of decision-making and preference-shaping are radically changing digital marketing.
So, what are these’micro-moments’ exactly? In essence, these are precise times in which customers turn to their gadgets, mostly smartphones, to take action on whatever they want or desire at the time. They are the moments when decisions are made and preferences are formed. Google divides micro-moments into four categories: ‘I want to know,’ ‘I want to go,’ ‘I want to do,’ and ‘I want to purchase’ moments. The proliferation of mobile device use has greatly increased the incidence of these moments, providing additional opportunity for companies to communicate with customers.
“That’s cool,” you might be thinking, “but why should I care?” The issue is, micro-moments are radically altering consumer behavior. We’re seeing an increase in the speed with which people make judgments. If your brand is present, useful, and quick in these situations, you will get new clients. Still not convinced? According to one survey, 69% of online consumers believe that the quality, timeliness, or relevancy of a company’s message impacts their opinion of the brand.
Let’s look at an example to better demonstrate this notion. Take, for example, Sephora. They recognized their consumers’ ‘I want to know’ moments and capitalized on them by developing the ‘Virtual Artist’ app, which employs augmented reality to let customers to see how their items would appear on their faces. This astute application of technology to target a specific micro-moment resulted in 8.5 million visits to their app.
Capturing these brief moments may appear difficult, but it does not have to be. To properly capitalize on these opportunities, you must first completely understand your clients’ wants and habits. When do they generally have these experiences? In those instances, what are they looking for? Answering these questions can help you position your brand to be present at these critical periods.
Next, prioritize making your consumers’ experiences as pleasant as possible. For example, a sluggish website may cause you to lose a potential consumer. As majority of these events occur on mobile devices, make sure your site is mobile-optimized. Creating relevant material that corresponds to these occasions might also assist you in efficiently seizing these chances.
But how can you know whether all of your efforts to capture micro-moments are worthwhile? Of course, by examining the appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs)! Conversion rates, click-through rates, and average order value are examples of such metrics. Tools like Google Analytics may assist you in tracking these KPIs and determining if your efforts are paying off.
Micro-moments are not a passing fad; they are here to stay. These situations will only grow more often as customers become increasingly reliant on their mobile devices for nearly everything. Brands that can successfully predict, capture, and capitalize on these moments will win.
Finally, micro-moments are reshaping the marketing environment. They have altered consumer behavior and modified how companies must function in order to gain customers. You can design a customer-centric marketing plan that will generate growth for your business by recognizing and using these moments. So, the next time you order takeout while waiting for your train, know that you’re not just satisfying your hunger; you’re also contributing to a micro-moment revolution!
Niki Martinov 