How Brands Can Use Digital to Create Customers

When you hear the term “connected consumer,” what comes to mind? If you’re like me, you see a teenager with an iPhone surfing the Internet, listening to Pandora and cruising through an H&M.

You might not picture yourself, but perhaps you should.

A consumer study released last week by my colleagues at Razorfish revealed some interesting insights into the “connected consumer,” including what defines this group, and how the digital world is changing the very way we, as consumers, experience brands. In fact, the study demonstrates a direct link from positive digital experiences to bottom line results.

A “connected consumer,” as defined for the purposes of this study, includes the following qualifications. He or she:

· Has access to broadband
· Has spent $150 or more online in the past six months (e.g. travel sites, Netflix, Amazon, etc.)
· Has visited a community site such as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Yelp, et al.
· Has consumed or created some form of digital media like photos, videos, music, or news

Starting to look a bit more like you?

It should. Based on previous research findings, “connected consumers” roughly mirror the U.S. population that has broadband access, a population that totals about 200 million today, according to a July 2009 estimate from CIA World Factbook.

The Rise of Digital Primacy
In addition, Forrester’s 2009 North American Technographics Benchmark Survey reports that if you are 45 years or younger, you spent significantly more time using the Internet than watching television this past year. This seems to indicate a rise in “digital primacy” where consumers are beginning to turn first to digital to help them navigate, connect, and make sense of the world.
What is interesting about this finding is the causal effect that this uptick in online engagement is having on consumers. According to the FEED report (http://feed.razorfish.com), the overwhelming majority of consumers who actively engage with a brand online evolve from passive reactors to brand advocates almost instantaneously. This engagement can be anything from simply following a brand on Twitter to participating in an online contest. And how these engagements are translating across the marketing funnel is staggering. On average, 97% report increased brand awareness; 98% show increased consideration; 97% will likely purchase a product from the brand; and 96% may recommend the brand to their friends.

With the holiday season approaching, it is the perfect time to study the implications of these findings. If digital brand experiences are causing such a dramatic uptick in awareness and adoption then we, as marketers, have just been handed our digital marching orders.

Here are four key findings from the study that redefine the way marketers can use digital to create customers:

Digital experiences drive many first brand experiences: 64% of consumers said they made their first purchase from a brand because of a digital experience, including a Web site, microsite, mobile coupon or email.

Digital can make or break your brand. 65% of consumers say a digital experience, either positive or negative, changed their opinion of a brand. And within that group, almost all (97%) indicated their experience influenced whether or not they eventually purchased from the brand.

Consumers want deals, deals and more deals. Consumers are largely engaging with brands to receive exclusive promotions or discounts. Of those who follow a brand on Twitter, 44% say that deals are the main reason. Although this is useful insight, it’s important not to get carried away. Brands still need to create a strategy around their social media offerings, including thinking about why types of deals to offer, who their audience is and if those deals are easily sharable?

Actions speak louder than advertising. The overwhelming majority of consumers who actively engage with a brand digitally—whether that’s playing an online game or downloading a mobile application–are more inclined to purchase and recommend that brand others. Giving customers the tools to not only engage with your brand, but also engage with each other, whether through a game, friending on Facebook, a giveaway, or sharing videos on YouTube, can sharply affect the bottom line.

The notion of the consumer gleefully ignoring your brand in both the on and offline worlds has been challenged, and instead this study shows that consumers desire a relationship with your brand based on instant interactions, rather than one-way messaging, a relationship that seems best served by the digital channel.

We, as marketers, to accommodate these expectations, are asked to shift our long-standing focus from brand awareness and impressions to actionable experiences that move our consumers to not only interact with our brands and make purchases, but to ultimately recommend and spread the word to others.

Dave Friedman ([email protected]) is president of the Americas for Razorfish and a monthly contributor to Chief Marketer.