the action economy

There is too much attention being paid to the attention economy.
 
Alarming statistics abound about our shortened attention spans (12…8…6 seconds and dropping) and the mass of advertising messages (5,000 per day or 5 ads per waking minute – have you seen 5 in the last minute ?) without an equal and opposite insight on how long form content viewing (Netflix has 100 million + subscribers, 70% of whom binge watch, Hulu has 47 million subscribers and growing), reading (New York Times subscriptions grew 62% in 2016) seem to be on the uptick.
 
But is attention the right metric in the first place ? While ‘attention’ has its limited usefulness when measuring for content, its at best a proxy for ‘action’.

Scarcity of attention should be replaced by specificity of intention. An action economy approach correctly identifies and solves for the real scarcity – desirable consumers responses (outcomes).
 
Measurable outcomes or conversion – these are valuable metrics that marketers need to build for, not attention. It’s the misplaced trust in ‘attention’ that sees us spend inordinate amount of time and money in creating-curating content, rolling out  display advertising (ad nauseum), remarketing (annoyance ad infinitum) all of which are weak levers to deliver ROI. CMOs have begun to see the error in blindly praying to the digital god of attention – they want more accountability for their digital ad dollars, and by that they mean conversions.
 
The ability to create traction within an action based economy and framework will require first a deep understanding of consumer segments-journeys-action decision trees-triggers and a brand that is purpose driven and authentic in bringing utility to its community.

If ‘actions’ are what a brand wants to build towards how should they approach it ?
 

1. Segment by New Users / Current Users / Loyalists : New Users will have different actions and decisions they are making Vs Current Consumers Vs Loyalists. Segmenting consumers in this way allows a brand to understand the desired actions as well as maps out the challenges it needs to overcome to conversion.

• New Users : In certain categories, ‘new users’ may be unfamiliar with the category as the usage maybe a habit change that is required (electric cars, diet foods), a life-stage change (having a baby, buying car insurance), a mind-set change (on-line grocery shopping) or a combination of all three.  In other cases new users who are familiar with the category, might be inconsistent users (e-commerce, subscription services) and need to be coaxed into re-entering the category.
• Current Users : They are in the category at most times, have a suite of brands they choose to buy and switch between each. They are constantly comparing brands in the price-value-convenience continuum and can be persuaded to switch between their select sub-set of brands
• Loyalists : Are specific about the brand they are buying and buy regularly.

2.   Build ‘Actions’ Decision Trees: For each of the key consumer segments create an ‘action’ decision tree highlighting the types of actions consumers take when moving to purchase and the related triggers that impact their decisions. Unlike a traditional purchase funnel that highlights the different phases of the purchase cycle a decision tree connects one action to another specific action and also maps the distance (in time) of the action to the final purchase while doing so. This allows the brand to create a contextual strategy for actions and plan marketing investments accordingly.

• 1 degree from Purchase: search ‘where to buy’ locations-opening hours (offline), compare pricing, look for discounts, check on warranty, verify free delivery
• 2 degrees from Purchase: fix an appointment, visit offline store, scan QR code for information, subscribe to the newsletter, click on display, chat with customer services, visit product pages (in depth) on the website
• 3 degrees from Purchase: search within category, view a video, play a branded game, try a brand sponsored filter, read the blog, read customer-expert reviews 

3. Create Trigger Maps: Map each of the segments by their ability to convert (skill, time and money), motivation to convert (need) and triggers required (call to action). 

4. Content : created based on purchase decision tree analysis. This is meant to include content for utility, engagement and not limited to conversion alone. 

5. Programmatic : Use post-trade programmatic + predictive modeling using machine learning to optimise spends that are more likely to convert. 

A few action driven digital investments to think about with an eye towards utility driven by context and a hint of intent : 

1. Product Listing Ads : The purchase funnel can be compressed for a segment of consumers who are quite specific about their purchase, uninterested in browsing. Here, direct to sale listing of products that pops-up when a consumer is searching for specific products will offer quick and easy purchase options. Direct to sale clicks in 2017 is at 52% of retail paid clicks and growing steadily (was 29% in 2014).
2. Targeted Pins (Pinterest) : When browsing becomes buying - a form of native advertising that helps consumers ‘buy what you love’ instantly. Consumer openness to buy in this manner has doubled in 2017 Vs 2014 (12% to 24%). Especially effective for fashion, beauty and cosmetics given the visually rich environment of Pinterest and the mindset of consumers browsing for ‘looks’ within Pinterest.
3. Context x Services Mash-ups : Using different geo-services like deliveries, taxi transport and other online service offerings, how do we combine the usage of one service to incentivise the contextual use of another ? Knowledge of destination with services / offers available at the destination can drive contextual utility - restaurant, retail, sales event, time of day, type of destination (business district/ shopping district) etc..
4. Storefronts : The ad is the store – browse endlessly. The ad is the transaction-buy now. The ad unit has become the store, content, ecommerce portal and customer service all rolled into one. This offers choice for consumers to browse as needed or buy spontaniously. It promises frictionelss instant gratification.

 
While the action economy seems to overtly focus on the bottom of the funnel conversion, in reality the efforts is to make the consumer journey faster and smoother. 

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