The following is a summary of 'The Consumer Decision Journey', a McKinsey & Co article written by David Court, Dave Elzinga, Susan Mulder, and Ole Jørgen Vetvik in June 2009.

The authors of the article begin by pointing out that the classic marketing funnel framework is no longer the best way to understand the range of consumer touchpoints - the moments where consumers are open to influence. The explosion of touchpoints, driven by the huge growth in product choices and digital channels, combined with the emergence of 'an increasingly discerning, well-informed customer' requires marketers to take a more sophisticated approach to navigate this environment. The authors call this the consumer decision journey. From this point onwards, I'm going to try and interpret the content of this article in the most simplistic way I can.

In their article, the authors highlight three key findings.

1. There's so much content out there, markets need to find new ways to get customers to even think about them as they begin their decision making.

2. Brands use to engage in one-way conversion: marketer to consumer. Now, we engage in two-way conversion, through social media & community. Because of this, marketers need to find new ways to satisfy their customers and manage word-of-mouth.

3. Making sure all aspects of marketing - strategy, spending, channel management, and message - are consistently aligned with the journey that consumers take to make decisions is crucial.

The Four Stages Of A Consumer Decision Making Process

Stage 1 - 'Which brands sell what I want to buy?'

Stage 2 - 'Which of those brands would I consider buying?'

Stage 3 - 'This is the brand I am going to buy'

Stage 4 - 'What was my experience like, and would I buy it again?'

Brand Consideration

In the traditional marketing funnel, the number of brands that are considered for purchase at each stage decreases. The authors challenge this idea, though. They believe that the number of brands can actually increase, further down the funnel.

At Stage 1 ('which brand sell what I want to buy?'), consumers will immediately name an initial-consideration set of brands to purchase. Then, however, rather than whittling down the number of brands to one (leading to a purchase), consumers might increase the number of brands under active consideration following research and exploration of a category.

The key lesson - brands that are initially considered are up to three times more likely to be purchased. However, brands that aren't in the initial-consideration set have an opportunity to be considered with the right touchpoints, at the right places.

Empowered Consumers

Marketers used to feed information and marketing to customers. Now, consumer-driven marketing is increasingly important to brands as customers seize control of the process and actively 'pull' information helpful to them. According to the authors, two-thirds of touchpoints during the active-evaluation stage (stage 2) involve consumer-driven marketing activities, such as the reading of reviews and word-of-mouth.

The key lesson - marketers must move aggressively beyond purely push-style communication and learn to influence consumer-driven touchpoints, such as word-of-mouth and reviews.

Two Types of Loyalty

Active loyalists are those who not only stick with products but actively recommend them to others.

Passive loyalists are those who stick with a product out of convenience, not commitment. These are the loyalists who are open to messages from competitors who will sway them to switch.

The key lesson - all marketers should do whatever they can to increase the base of active loyalists.

Three Ways To Align Marketing With The Consumer Decision Journey

1. Prioritise objectives and spending

Traditionally, marketers have focused their efforts and directed their resources at either end of the marketing funnel, either building awareness or generating loyalty. In doing so, marketers miss the opportunity not only to focus investments on the most important points of the decision journey but also to reach the right customers.

2. Tailor messaging

One general message, across all parts of the consumer journey, doesn't cut it anymore. New messaging is required to win in whatever part of the consumer journey offers the greatest revenue opportunity.

3. Invest in consumer-driven marketing

Companies must invest in vehicles that let marketers interact with consumers as they learn about brands. Reviews, content, influencers, word-of-mouth, forums, to name a few.

All credit goes to David Court, Dave Elzinga, Susan Mulder, and Ole Jørgen Vetvik - the original article can be found here.