The future of digital marketing and eCommerce is rapidly shaping into something bold and exciting - and small business owners will be right at the front, taking advantage of low-cost solutions that drive repeat sales. There are stacks of great leaders in Australia pushing the boundaries of digital marketing and driving new trends. One of the less obvious shifts right now, is an increasing interest on tacit emotions that are evoked when a customer thinks about a brand, product, service, business owner - or anything else. A tacit emotion is something you feel but don’t necessarily state (unless asked), and has important influence when you make certain decisions, like which restaurant to visit on Friday night.

Big and small brands alike are beginning to realise just how powerful understanding their customer’s emotions can be. With some data and a little know-how, they can gently massage how their brands are perceived, to increase adoption and repeat sales. If you read the Financial Review or similar, you may have heard the term “consumer sentiment”. This is a macroeconomic indicator that measures the degree of optimism people in Australia feel about the state of the national economy and their own financial position within it. While this information is important to big business and the banks, it doesn’t tell you much about customers unique to your small business. So how do you uncover what people are thinking, especially when pressed for time at the checkout?

There are a number of online social media mention tools that can collect tweets, posts and mentions of your brand online, but that isn’t enough (though it’s a good start). To understand the deep and influential emotions that underpin your customer’s purchase decisions, you need to start a two-way conversation. YomStar’s web App let’s you do exactly that. It can serve customers an attractive survey that collects, collates, tags and then reports on useful consumer opinions. It does all of this while protecting the data from sneaky third parties, who are trying to market to your customers without you knowing. From data like this, a small business owner can start to make better educated decisions around pricing, promotional mix (e.g. advertising, public relations), marketing messaging, value adding tactics, communications (including email marketing) and even around the humans that make your business great!

Personally, I can’t wait to rocket into the future and see what it holds, but we have some fantastic tools and strategies at our disposal even today. If I have learned anything in business, it is simply to test the waters and take the jump before your competitors do. Your customers are ready to tell you what they think...

The Article was Written By: Dr Daniel Jess - a consumer behaviour specialist who has enjoyed 12+ years consulting to some of Australia and South-East Asia’s more innovative lifestyle and tourism brands. Far from a stuffy academic, Daniel is proud to be at the front of Australian consumer innovation and enjoys injecting the most current practice-led research findings into highly effective strategies for growth. Daniel also writes for www.rawthinking.com.au and is available to answer any questions.