How consumer behaviour is getting disrupted by the digital forces. Presented in a Guest Lecture at IIM Bangalore on 27th July, 2012.

1. Consumer Decision Making
in the digital realm
IIM Bangalore
27th July, 2012
www.twitter.com/akshatk

2. Needs & Wants
www.twitter.com/akshatk

3. Needs & Wants
www.twitter.com/akshatk

4. Gone in 60 seconds
www.twitter.com/akshatk
Slide 4

5. Consumers are making informed decisions
www.twitter.com/akshatk

6. Introduction
• Media outposts have multiplied and they don various
roles sometimes interchangeable
• Brands have evolved. They are embracing new media.
They want to be present at every touch point
consumer has access to.
• Consumers are smarter and more informed. They rely
on multiple information sources before they make a
purchase decision.
And hence brands and marketers are increasingly
putting consumers at the heart of everything they do
www.twitter.com/akshatk

7. 3 key themes:
1. A business problem is a behavioural change
in disguise
www.twitter.com/akshatk

8. At the heart of every business problem today is an
opportunity to change consumer behaviour
- Even in those areas we previously struggled to impact
www.twitter.com/akshatk

9. Start with a clear, simple, granular problem
(N.B. these aren’t easy to get to)
THE PROBLEM
-We need 1m users
to buy 1 more pack a year each
-Rate of sale is sky high but our
distribution is a barrier to
growth
www.twitter.com/akshatk

10. Then identify the behaviour you need
to change to make that happen
THE PROBLEM THE BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE
-We need to create one
-We need 1m users to buy 1 more
additional occasion a year for
pack a year
these users
-Rate of sale is sky high but our
-We need our fans to become our
distribution is a barrier to
distribution channel
growth
www.twitter.com/akshatk

11. Move from “nice” sharing to “sharing that
breaks”
www.twitter.com/akshatk

12. 3 key themes:
1. A business problem is a behavioural change
in disguise
2. Think about network insights, not (only)
consumer insights
www.twitter.com/akshatk

13. www.twitter.com/akshatk

14. Thinking about network insights ensures we
understand why our target might participate
with our platform
www.twitter.com/akshatk

15. And it ensures we know how to design experiences
to maximise the participation we need
Source: Luke Wroblewski, The Impact of Social
Models
www.twitter.com/akshatk

16. 3 key themes:
1. A business problem is a behavioural change
in disguise
2. Think about network insights, not (only)
consumer insights
3. From “the single thing we want to say” to
“the single thing we’re going to make or do”
www.twitter.com/akshatk

17. The heart of every marketing
campaign/message/ initiative/…:
What is the single thing we want to say?
www.twitter.com/akshatk

18. But we’ve established….
Participation disrupts business models
Consumers ability to participate has the power to impact our
businesses in more profound ways than ever before
The solution to a much more diverse range of business problems
lies in changes to consumer behaviour
If we want to change behaviour, we’re probably not going to be
talking at people……
www.twitter.com/akshatk

19. www.twitter.com/akshatk

20. What are we going to make or do that will enable the
behaviour we need to see?
www.twitter.com/akshatk

21. Hence
1. A business problem is a What do we need people
behavioural change in disguise to do?
2. Think about network insights, not
Why would they do it?
(only) consumer insights -what are their network
motivations?
3. From “the single thing we want to
What are we going to
say” to “the single thing we’re
make or do that will
going to make or do” enable them to do it ?
www.twitter.com/akshatk

22. • GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Sell stuff often
• GOAL OF MARKETING
• Influence consumers to buy stuff often
www.twitter.com/akshatk

23. What aids consumer decision making?
• CLOUT
– The marketing that has the most clout is the
marketing that already has your consumer’s ears
– Most trusted form of marketing – word from friends
and family
• RELEVANCE
– Break the clutter; too much noise
– Map the consumer decision journey, align messaging
with the journey, sell an outcome or a lifestyle , not a
product

24. What aids consumer decision making?
• EASY
– Invest in findability, reward loyalty
– Use CRM
– Make it easy for the consumer to ‘like’ you
• DIFFERENT
– Consumers are looking for a story to tell
– Create a unique/key selling point
– Personalisation
– Build in virality
– Package the brand experience for consumers to
understand and share

25. The perception gap: Needs & Wants
www.twitter.com/akshatk

26. The evolving ecosystem
The key to this new ecosystem is the arrows between each bucket though. Paid drives Owned
which can drive Earned, but things are more complicated than this.
- Owned Media presence (for example a YouTube video) can aid visibility on Search Engines and
can also be used to drive back to the main site (for example Alexa currently shows that 44.64%
of visitors to Evian.com come from YouTube.)
- Conversation can also produce activity that aids SEO (through creating an increase in both
Search results and links) with this helping Paid Search ads to work harder.
www.twitter.com/akshatk

27. Brands are Publishers
- Large well-known brands are beginning to realize that the media they own (the product
itself, how it’s sold and distributed, etc.) are more powerful than the media they buy.
Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Center, a portal P&G launched a new platform called “Man
for new and expecting mothers, is said to of the House” which revolves around male
be one of the most effective marketing grooming and men’s lifestyle besides
initiatives J&J has ever undertaken. working as a plug for Old Spice and Gillette
- Owned media are not only more credible and effective than paid media, but they
actually sometimes have better reach and frequency.
www.twitter.com/akshatk

28. Thank You
• imadreamer@gmail.com
• www.twitter.com/akshatk
• in.linkedin.com/in/akshatkumar
• www.slideshare.net/inkgenie