Whether consumers are conscious of it or not, they hold the power when making purchase decisions. This can be both a challenge and a headache for marketers as they struggle to catch up with the trends of consumers who take various paths when making a decision to purchase.
Let’s consider this scenario with Person A:
Person A saw a dynamic ad on Instagram for a new mascara they wanted. Still, instead of immediately purchasing the beauty product via the brand’s Instagram, Person A decided to scroll on TikTok, visiting their favorite beauty influencers page to search for any reviews of the product. After thirty minutes of exploring TikTok and watching videos of similar creators and consumers who have used the product, Person A has decided to search on Google for the product to compare the product’s different prices on different platforms, like Amazon, Sephora, Ulta, and when Person A is ready to purchase on Amazon, Person A remembers they are part of a rewards program for Sephora and not only would get points for the product that would lead to 15% but they would also get free shipping. Satisfied with this offering and the perceived Value, Person A decided to purchase Sephora.
Now, let’s look at the map of Person’s A Decision Tree:
Person A first interacted with the product via a dynamic ad on Instagram. Thus, the brand ran a digital ad campaign targeting Person’s A demographic.
Person A decided that the product looked appealing but needed another’s opinion before buying. Depending on when it launched, the digital ad on Instagram would eventually build up engagement, leading to comments, but the written comments did not suffice for Person A; Person A went to TikTok, a video platform where content creators and consumers leave video reviews. Person A first went to their favorite beauty influencer’s page. This influencer is considered a source of truth for Person A, and Person A would feel more at ease knowing that the product was not only reviewed by the influencer but also approved.
However, despite the approval, Person A continued to review other videos, needing a non-influencer’s approval of the product to consider before purchase. It is interesting to consider that despite the rise in popularity of influencer marketing, there may be people like Person A who need a “regular” person’s opinion to receive a more non-biased opinion.
After deciding to purchase the product, Person A faced another hurdle before purchase: value. Where can Person A buy this product at the right price while also considering convenience? Amazon, with its Prime deals and benefits, may have sounded like an appealing offer at first, but Person A remembered the long-term benefits that Sephora’s reward program offers that superseded the seeming convenience that Amazon offers.
It’s fun to examine a purchaser through the lens of marketing, right? One may never realize how many decisions they make and how they boil down to a scientific method that has been tested and perfected by marketers alike.
The power of decision is ultimately in our hands as consumers, and once you break the matrix and understand why we make the decisions we make, it can help you rewrite the way you look at purchasing.