Digital Trends Will Shape the Consumer Experience

CUNA's Escan
August 22, 2012 | COMMENTS

These days, consumers prefer experience over products.

The impact of the flailing economy has created a lasting shift in the average consumer, says marketing consultant Macala Wright in digital-culture news blog Mashable (mashable.com). That means marketers should be focusing on models of consumption that provide deep and fulfilling experiences.

The top five conceptual trends driving this consumer shift, according to Wright, are:

1. Visual thinking.  This trend began in education as an attempt to improve learning and retention. Over the past decade it has evolved and been adopted as a strategy tool for marketers and management firms to unearth answers to complex problems and map out solutions via large-scale visuals. You can use it to improve marketing to any audience or demographic on any subject matter.

2. The new aesthetic. The term new aesthetic refers to the blurring of people’s digital and real-world lives. Consumers of the future will have no recollection of life without the Internet. They won’t distinguish between the “real” and digital, and they’ll seek experiences that seamlessly integrate both. The challenge to marketers is to grasp the power of aesthetics and create experiential marketing tactics.

3. Calm technology. Consumers are looking for applications that cut down on digital noise. They want only enough information so they’re able to focus on a task. The idea is to reduce distractions to workflow without losing functionality. People want technology to enter their lives in a way that makes it calmer and easier, not more distracted and disrupted. The value to marketers lies in streamlining consumer-directed information for better receptivity.

4. Neuromarketing. The premise of this science-based strategy is that consumers make buying decisions in split seconds in the subconscious, emotional part of the brain. The goal of neuromarketing is to grab the consumers’ mind with products they deeply desire. Instead of simply using focus groups, companies are seeking better understanding of how the brain functions to make things “sticky,” why consumers purchase products, and how those purchases can incite product loyalty.

5. Singularity. This holds that technology is on the verge of becoming smarter than humans, a concept also known as artificial intelligence. Game theory is one of the key components surrounding this field of research. The “gamification” opportunities for businesses range from having more engaged customers to creating more brand narratives. When overlaying game theory with current trends, marketers may soon discover a bridge that connects the everyday and the fantastic.