Some articles say multitasking is “costing billions in lost productivity” and “dumbing down” our brains. Others claim it’s a boon, allowing us to squeeze productivity from formerly wasted moments.
Whatever you believe, there’s no turning back: Each day, millions are multitasking — watching TV and shopping online, texting friends and cooking, or reviewing emails while talking on the phone.
For savvy marketers, this represents an opportunity. We know that doing multiple things at once is a normal, intentional behavior, a mode that we can anticipate and serve to earn consumer attention and loyalty. We call this the Power of While.
When we understand the Power of While, we design experiences that anticipate fragmented attention — allowing users to queue items in a cart, suggesting options based on past choices, or simplifying messaging to be grasped at a glance.
How can you be more responsive to the Power of While?
- Review your customer journey: Look at your brand experience moment-by-moment and channel-by-channel. What are customers’ modes (i.e., the jobs they’re doing and mindset for getting them done), their milestones, their feelings and needs?
- Ask your consumers to identify their modes, needs, distractions and emotions.
- Finally, use what you learn to deliver the right messages at the right time, creating loyalty to the convenience and satisfaction your brand offers.
The Power of While in Action
- A health club saw that people were in killing time mode while waiting for drinks at a coffee shop. So they placed entertaining floor graphics where they waited, capturing attention and directing prospects to a nearby sales kiosk.
- A bank created an easy mobile online bill pay experience for customers who wanted to pay their bill while cooking, hiking or socializing.
Call us to learn more about marketing to mode. We can show you how to improve your customer experience – and your results.
Kaylee Devine, 907.274.9504
