How do customers decide? The importance of the messy middle.

The Messy Middle is a model, developed and proposed by Google, which defines the decision-making path of Users . In other words, it's a new paradigm for defining a funnel . Different from the traditional ones we are used to in digital marketing, in which the phases, although variable, are rather standard and well defined. In traditional purchase funnels, we move from the higher phases, of comparison and in-depth analysis, to the lower phases, which have to do with the actual purchase. With the messy middle everything changes, the touch points are diversified and increasingly chaotic, what happens between the first stimulus, called trigger, i.e. the triggering of the need and the actual purchase, is not linear and changes from one person to another other.

Naturally, every brand would like all its potential customers to enter this flow through a "trigger" and exit the circuit in a linear way by making a purchase: the fact is that the decision-making path that customers take is never so linear and the Messy Middle explains it perfectly.

Let's try to understand something more!

What is Messy Middle and how does it work?

How do consumers get into this seemingly endless and very intricate cycle?

In all likelihood, the answer to this question is not univocal: the moment a consumer begins to consider the idea of making a purchase, he has already entered the circuit, most likely on the exploration side, called " exposure ".

The exposure or exposition of the messy middle

First, let's look at top funnel activity, which is where the prospect is “exposed” to the opportunity to make a purchase and enters the cycle .

Google has discovered that this crucial moment is almost always generated by a combination of triggers , from word of mouth to online advertising, from a change in lifestyle to particular socio-cultural conditions.

The exposure of a potential customer to a brand's marketing activities is only one component of the process and it is wrong to think that it is the only element capable of leading a customer to enter the purchase path.

Therefore, being first in the minds and hearts of potential customers is even more fundamental than previously considered, much more than a strategy aimed solely at selling.

A recognizable brand, present and attentive to creating notoriety will benefit from these precautions in the long run, while a brand that focuses entirely on sales could have a good immediate return , but in the long run it will escape the minds of customers and will no longer be able to dominate the "noise" that potential customers experience when they enter a buying cycle (word of mouth, previous experiences, personal prejudices, advertising, etc.).

Exploration & evaluation, that is exploration and evaluation: the moment of thought

Once users are channeled into the research process, they enter an exploration and evaluation phase .

Sometimes the path from trigger to purchase is short and is accomplished by skipping the research phase altogether.

Other times, clients can spend weeks, even months, in what, looking closely at the image above, is a real loop.

A loop that doesn't always lead to the exit and that is to the purchase !

It soon becomes clear that understanding how customers decide in terms of purchases is not so trivial, on the contrary.

Google's data helps us: statistics on online searches by users show that today potential customers are more actively looking for options, multi-tabbing and / or weighing offers from multiple retailers at a time .

Price is almost always the least important component, and customers want more information before making a decision.

Marketing strategies that try to force the customer's journey by making him make an arduous leap from the moment of exposure to the moment of purchase are short-lived, because they do not help the user to gather information and navigate the complex decision-making process.

Instead, committing yourself to providing content, clarifications, information, data and support to the potential customer creates the trust necessary to get out of the loop and spontaneously enter the shopping experience.

The "purchase" or purchase: only a small part of the overall experience

Even after you've provided all the right information, convincing the customer to make a purchasing decision may take some nudging .

Consumers are highly susceptible to emotional stimuli, and Google has identified six "cognitive biases" that shape buying behavior, both positive and negative (purchasing or choosing a competitor):

1. Category heuristics : Shortcuts that help us make a quick and satisfying decision within a given category, without necessarily exploring all the features of each option in depth.
2. Power of immediacy : making as many products as possible available to customers, in the shortest time, so as not to weaken the desire to make a purchase.
3. Social Proof : A psychological phenomenon in which people value the actions and opinions of others in an attempt to validate or justify their choice. Social proof is also in Robert Cialdini's Rules of Persuasive Communication .
4. Scarcity Bias : Humans have a strong scarcity bias. We subconsciously feel that the less available things are, the more valuable they are .
5. Authority bias : attaching great importance to the opinion of an expert or authoritative person , especially when an important decision has to be made.
6. Power of gratuity : associating a free gift with the purchase of a product or service, to persuade the potential customer to complete the transaction.

These levers can be transmitted in various ways, for example:

• customer reviews ,
• pop-ups warning that products in stock are running low,
• discount codes,
• promises of fast or free delivery,
• the opinions of influencers or relevant personalities in the sector who validate the goodness of the product or service.

However, Google data tell us that the moment of purchase represents only a small part of the overall experience that the customer can have at the end of the Messy Middle and it is here that the importance of customer care, customer experience, retargeting and of community marketing is loudly heard.

The customer must be "pampered" while making the purchase and must be taken into great consideration in the future, to ensure that, when he returns to the cycle, he will choose to pass from the trigger to the transaction in the shortest possible time!

How to emerge in the Messy Middle

So what is the key to making people choose our products? What are the most effective methods available to digital marketing professionals? As in many other cases, there is no ready-made recipe that works in all cases. Analysis activities, such as testing and promotion, are increasingly essential to fully understand the needs of its Users and help them make a decision, without leaving the Messy Middle cycle or other artificial forcing. Studying, evaluating and applying the principles of behavioral science to our marketing and communication strategies can be a very effective way to make our product known and to be chosen by consumers. As well as spreading the presence of the Brand, making sure that it is present and that Users remember it, during the options exploration phases. Or, study the behavior of its Users and bring the moment of stimulation closer to the moment of purchase, so as to avoid that consumers are exposed to competition. The ones we have listed are just some of the possible techniques and approaches to make yourself known in the chaos of the Messy Middle, the key is to continuously experiment so as not to leave gaps in the Users' decision process.

A final reflection on the Messy Middle

The “Messy Middle” offers a new perspective on how consumers interact with brands and experience the purchase journey, going beyond the marketing funnel model.

Marketers should take these learnings seriously and test the resulting insights into their own branding, sales, community, and targeting strategies.

The brands that will be truly successful will be those capable of relying on a strategy that not only takes into account conversions, but that helps customers move through the exploration and evaluation process.

Those who try to force the journey by directing prospects from trigger to purchase will fall behind in the long run.