The Small Business Online Marketing Handbook: Converting Online Conversations to Offline Sales

Chapter 1

Understanding and Connecting with the Connected Consumer

Before we jump into the nitty-gritty of building your online marketing plan, let's first spend a few minutes understanding your target audience. No matter where in the world your business is located, there will always be an increasingly important segment of your target audience that you need to tap into—a group we call Connected Consumers.

Who Is the Connected Consumer?

There are two common ways to describe the so-called Connected Consumer. One definition refers to how savvy they are with mobile technology. These individuals typically browse for products and services on their mobile devices and frequently consume media through several outlets at once (e.g., uploading a photo to Facebook while surfing the web on their tablets or laptops while also watching a television show). They also have a tendency to search for prices on their mobile devices before they buy a new product, potentially while they're staring at the product while in the store. When it comes to recommendations, the Connected Consumer's opinion tends to hold more weight within social circles. He or she is often the first person his or her friends approach for an opinion on whether they should buy a given item, or for a recommendation on a good service provider.

But there's a second newer and more relevant definition of the Connected Consumer—one that extends the notion of mobility and refers to that person's overall social connectedness, combined with ...