Exposure surrounds the purchase decision-making process. Google defines exposure as
“…the sum total of all the advertising emanating from a category that you’ve seen or heard…is not a stage, or a phase or a step. It’s an always on, constantly changing backdrop that remains present throughout the duration of the decision-making process.”
Between the TRIGGERS (which move customers from a passive to an active state)
and the PURCHASE lies the Exploration/Evaluation phase. This phase is non-linear and based on the infinity loop symbol so multiple revolutions may take place. The length of time can vary significantly depending on the product category.
After the purchase, is the EXPERIENCE, which feeds back into the Exposure.
It’s such a well thought out, and easy to remember, image to hold in our minds when we are tempted to try and impose a decision making purchase process that suits “Us”. It also reminds us of what was said in our previous blog, “ Sending the wrong signal at the wrong moment could be highly disruptive with the offending brand is jettisoned from the shopper’s consideration set.”
So we need to invest time in understanding the purchase decision making process.
And it’s no good just nodding in agreement.
We have to think about our shopper journey and ask ourselves what’s working and what’s not.
If we don’t know, we need to find out.
It’s not a nice-to-do, it’s a have-to-do.
Our job is to provide whatever it is the shopper needs to make a decision, when they need it, with a consistent voice, a brand story that resonates across platforms answering their questions and guiding them on their journey to purchase.
This is the final part of our “Messy Middle” series, click here to read part one or part two.