Welcome to the third issue of The Insighter, a monthly brief that pairs fresh marketing insights with an action plan for growth. Each issue explores a new topic related to our research. In this edition, we discuss new research that shows why brands should invest in recruiting high-value customers.
Consumers are dedicating more time and effort to big purchase decisions like finding a real estate agent, picking the right bank, and choosing the best software subscription. To confidently make these decisions, they expect companies to deliver helpful information at every step.
At the same time, marketers are under immense pressure to deliver immediate results and long-term growth. Seventy percent of U.S. lead-generation advertisers say that an increased focus on profitability is driven by changes in consumer behavior.1
To drive profit, we have to move beyond leads to value. That starts with defining what a high-value customer is for you. The next step is optimizing for value as you define it. Those leads are going to drive long-term, sustainable growth for your business. But that long-term outcome means staying in sync with your customers’ changing habits and journeys.
Let’s take a closer look at the latest consumer trends and their implications for marketers.
Consumers are more discerning but also more open to new brands
When making a high-stakes decision, consumers tend to narrow their options down to just a couple of brands. Consumers who fill out a lead form or make a purchase consider 4.3 brands at the start of their journey2 but only 1.8 by the end.3
The good news is today’s consumer is actually more open than ever before. We’ve found consumers who fill out a lead form are 3.5X more likely to purchase from brands that were discovered during the journey, than those they knew before starting the journey.4
So, what helps brands make it to their narrow consideration set? The key is relevance.
Consumers want real relevance, not perfunctory personalization
Consumers place more importance on brand interactions that are relevant to their needs or past behaviors than on comparable interactions that are merely personalized with their name or personal details (33% versus 20%).5 For example, people care more about an email from an airline when it notifies them about a sale and less when it wishes them a happy birthday.
The top three characteristics that consumers look for when determining if a product or service is relevant to them include quality (53%), desired benefits or features (47%), and value (47%).6
The payoff of building relevance is getting more confident and, therefore, more valuable customers. Purchase confidence is 3.2X higher among consumers who feel they found relevant information.7 And confident consumers are 6X more likely to say they would “definitely buy again”8 and 18X more likely to recommend the brand to family or friends than those with low confidence are.9
Value-based strategies serve relevant information to your most valuable prospects
Consider leveraging high-value bidding strategies to serve relevant information to your most receptive audiences. U.S. marketers with lead-generation objectives who have already shifted to this approach are doing so to increase their conversion rates (53%) and increase ROI (47%).10
Google can help you get in front of your most valuable prospects. Seventy-three percent of U.S. advertisers focused on optimizing their digital campaigns to yield high-value leads say Google outperforms social platforms in driving high-quality leads.11
How Indeed optimized for value to boost conversion
Indeed, the world’s largest job site, helps employers find job seekers quickly and efficiently around the globe. Their growth marketing team focuses on acquiring high-value employers efficiently by bidding toward their lifetime value. This was a complex challenge due to the unique dynamics of the global job market.
By using value-based bidding and Performance Max, Indeed was able to identify behavioral cues that distinguished segments of more profitable customers, so they could invest more in them. As a result, they saw a 30% lift in return on ad spend and 50% lift in conversions.
Be sure to check out the on-demand recording and key takeaways from Think Lead Gen for more peer success stories on how brands are meeting customers during the critical discovery period.
