By Rachael Zahn
Vice President of Client Services

It’s quite ironic – often times it’s a very hard, tedious process to make something simple. That something could be your product positioning, purchase process, social campaigns…ideally any interaction you have with your end customer. One of our core principles at ZOG Digital is to make things simple. And, according to the Corporate Executive Board’s latest report in Harvard Business Review, research shows that simplicity is exactly what your customers want.

“They don’t want a relationship with you. Just help them make good choices”
- Patrick Spenner and Karen Freeman

This report tells us what we, as marketers AND consumers, know to be true – in that simplicity in marketing messaging makes it stick:

“For many consumers, the rising volume of marketing messages isn’t empowering – it’s overwhelming.”

Creating a consumer shopping and purchase experience that resonates a simple marketing message is key – down to every last interaction point. Often times, it’s not just the interaction points that are in the mix, but what isn’t in the mix that creates a better experience overall. Case in point – search marketing strategies.

The report presents case studies of two similar digital camera brands and their approach to simplicity with search marketing.

Case Study #1:

“Brand A’s search engine strategy is to pick up any consumers who are searching common digital camera terms and direct them to the company website. There they find extensive technical and feature information and 360-degree rotatable product photos, all organized and sorted by model.”

Brand A spent considerable effort and budget in presenting every single detail of the product, assuming that the consumer is savvy enough to translate megapixels and other technical details into value.

Case Study #2:

“Brand B’s search engine strategy is to first understand the consumers intent and where in the search process she is likely to be. Why does she want a camera? Is she just starting to look, or is she ready to buy? The company guides those in the early stages of investigation to third-party review sites (where it’s camera gets good marks) and directs consumers who are actively shopping to its own website.”

Brand B focused their efforts on translating value (from technical features) for the consumer, to facilitate an easy decision with trustworthy information tailored to the consumer’s search. This is ultimately making decisions simple and removing obstacles to purchase.

The report contains five ways to make your marketing messaging more sticky, by making it more simple:

• Strategic search marketing
• Aiding navigation (creating a more efficient consumer path)
• Building trust (unbiased ratings, reviews, press)
• Making it easier to weigh options (highlight your unique value proposition)
• Market smart (know what the consumer wants)

While we, as marketers, can’t always give the consumer what they want, the Corporate Executive Board’s study shows that we often misjudge what consumers want most from a brand, online:

What do consumers really want? Hopefully, this is no surprise.

They want brands to help them make good decisions with their life, health, wealth and happiness – in a simply stated way (which often comes in the form of a discount). Thus, it is absolutely critical to focus on protecting the simplicity of marketing messaging and consumer experience at every touchpoint. Your sales, revenue and conversion depend on it.

Start with what converts best – a qualified consumer, ready to purchase, doing shopping research or searching for your product online. Rethink your search marketing strategy, and adjust to better align with consumer intent (don’t waste time and budget on a strategy that doesn’t convert).

Or – have ZOG Digital complete a complimentary Search Marketing Audit of your online presence. We can show you obstacles and opportunities for making connections with consumers and more importantly, potential customers.

Read the entire report from Corporate Executive Board (as published in Harvard Business Review, May 2012) here.