In quarter 1 of last year, I noticed three trends between marketing and consumer buying behavior.

• Trend #1 Organic reach is down across multiple social platforms 
• Trend #2 Businesses are experiencing a longer buying cycle, about 6-9 months on average
• Trend #3 Businesses that offer a solution the market wants NOW, and have a strong customer experience, are KILLING IT. 

The trends have now become the norm, and for business owners who want to accelerate their growth, or scale, in 2024…it’s time to get serious about a few things. 

The insight I share below is based on my personal experiences and that of my most successful clients – the clients who deeply understand their people, provide their customers with the exact solutions they desire, and who have a strong customer experience (the secret sauce for a highly profitable business). 

If you immediately implement the advice throughout this blog post, you will see massive revenue growth in 90 days or less. (IF you already have a strong product/market fit.) 

Let’s dive in. 

Business Strategies to Keep Up with Consumer Buying Behavior

1. Omnipresence and List building

There has never been a time in history where consumer trust has been as low as it is right now. Consumers do not trust the companies selling to them. In 2023, Google studied how people are making purchasing decisions and came up with their 7-11-4 Rule. (The concept has been around since the 1930s when movie studios coined the approach, but Google has adapted it to explain the new customer journey.)  

On average, consumers are making buying decisions after engaging with a brand and consuming content for 7 hours, via 11 touchpoints, and in 4 locations. 

How can YOU implement the 7-11-4 Rule in your business? 

Be OMNIPRESENT. 

• 7 Hours of Content: Consumers want to “binge” a variety of your content to assess your credibility and understand your offerings. Having a blog, podcast, or video show, in addition to short-form content on social media platforms, helps consumers reach this 7 hour mark more quickly.
• 11 Touch Points: Touchpoints are interactions between your brand and the consumer, occurring online and offline. This can be in person or virtual networking, websites, social media posts, email newsletters, etc. Each touchpoint helps build trust with consumers.
• 4 Different Locations: Where does your ideal customer go for information? Do you have content readily available for them in these areas? The locations might be your website and social media channels, online sources like podcasting or YouTube, as well as offline locations like physical stores or events.

People need to feel like they are part of your ecosystem BEFORE buying. Implement this strategy to condense the timeline between the first point of contact and a sale.

Also consider…

• Content Strategy: Develop a content strategy that caters to your best customer type. Consider static posts, video, and audio mediums for delivering educational, informational, and entertaining content.
• Omnipresent Marketing: Maintain a strong online presence across multiple channels, and keep branding and messaging consistent.
• Customer Reviews: Encourage and monitor customer reviews. Respond in a reasonable amount of time to both positive and negative feedback.
• Data Analysis: Continuously analyze consumer behavior data to identify trends and adapt your marketing strategies.
• Location Awareness: Understand where your target audience looks for information and have your content ready and waiting in those places.

2. A Repeatable Sales System 

The decline in brand trust has changed the consumer buying behavior. This means you need to develop a repeatable sales system that consistently builds trust and effectively communicates the value of your products or services throughout the customer journey. 

Focus on nurturing relationships through regular, personalized communication that addresses customer concerns and highlights the benefits (not just the features) of your offer(s). 

Create a mix of educational content (authority building), testimonials (social proof), and tailored follow-ups (personalization is more important than ever) to reinforce credibility and trust. 

Use automation tools to streamline processes. Consistent and personalized touchpoints help a potential customer feel seen, heard, and valued. I recommend:

1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho CRM can automate customer data management, follow-ups, and interaction tracking. A CRM helps you manage every touchpoint with the customer so that you can utilize the data to create personalized service.
2. Email Marketing Automation: Platforms like Flodesk, ConvertKit, and Brevo allow you to automate email campaigns and segment your audience so that the right messages reach the right people at the right time. Personalization is key in 2024 and beyond.
3. Chatbots and Virtual Assistants: Chatbot and VA tools engage visitors on your website, answer common questions, and direct more complex questions to human contacts.
4. Social Media Automation: Tools like Later, Hootsuite, and Buffer let you schedule and post content across multiple social platforms. They can also track social interactions and engagement to help you refine your social media lead generation.
5. Analytics and Reporting Tools: Automation tools for analytics, like Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics, help track customer behavior and campaign performance automatically. These insights help you optimize your sales strategies.

Remember, the best salespeople do the most boring stuff. Go back to the basics and get relentless with your sales habits. 

Create a specific set of actions that you or your team engage in daily that do the following:

• Identify potential prospects
• Connect
• Qualify
• Engage in nurture conversations
• Leverage your CRM to track leads in your funnel and the stage of buyer readiness
• Depending on your industry, either invite to calls or provide personalized shopping experiences
• Use active listening and ICP feedback to gauge objections/preferences
• Continue building trust through personalization
• CLOSE

3. Leverage Customer Lifetime Value 

Whether you are a small business, or a large corporation, you need to identify your customer lifetime value. I’m not going to dive deep into the various CLV formulas you can use to assess your best customers, but I will share this: 

Being of service to your customers, knowing exactly what they need NOW, and consistently providing the exact solution they need, when they need it, is the only way to ensure sustainable business growth. 

Consumer desires, wants and needs are always evolving. You must anticipate these shifts and continuously innovate and improve on your core offer(s). 

1. Offer a Solution the Market Wants Now: You must be in tune with current market demands and adapt your products or services to meet these needs. The market changes rapidly, consumer preferences shift quickly due to technological advancements, social trends, economic changes, or even global events like a pandemic. Businesses that anticipate or quickly respond to these changes by providing relevant solutions will capture market share.
    
2. Create a Strong Customer Experience: It’s not just what you sell, but how you sell it and support it. A strong customer experience means that every touchpoint a customer has with your business, from the initial discovery phase through to post-purchase support and beyond, is a positive one. Consistently assess the UX of your website, customer service interactions, the purchasing process, product or service delivery, and customer follow-up. When you provide a seamless, engaging, and supportive customer journey you build loyalty, increase customer satisfaction, and improve the likelihood of repeat business and referrals.

Understanding Consumer Buying Behavior = More Revenue and Business Growth

Looking for accelerated growth? Get serious about your lifetime value and customer experience. Businesses that are killing it are not only meeting but exceeding customer expectations. Strong CLV and CX leads to higher sales, stronger brand loyalty, and massive increases in market share. 

No strategy is perfect, but I believe the things I outlined in this blog post will give you a massive advantage IF you understand consumer buying behavior and implement what I’ve shared. 

If you’re looking for more advanced strategies and support for growing your business in 2024, consider booking a call with me to discuss how I can help you reach your revenue goals. You can find time on my calendar HERE.