comScore’s Digital Future In Focus Report for 2013 states that 31% of ad impressions aren’t seen online. When you couple this with faulty last-touch attribution modes, that’s downright scary in a world where so many advertisers are looking for direct response metrics to measure their digital strategies. This stat provides a significant opportunity to intentionally or unintentionally game the system. 

Why is that?

Resonate’s data has long proven that optimizing campaigns for clicks will get you clicks… not customers. And Quantcast’s recent whitepaper, “Display Ad Clickers Are Not Your Customers” reinforces that we’re on the right track.

Anytime you’re breaking new ground, it is hard to figure out exactly how to tell your story. You are creating something new and innovative, but how do you make it relevant and inspire the trust needed for those first customers to take a risk?  You’re asking people to adopt a new technology, or behave differently, to take advantage of innovation. You are asking them to risk time, money and sometimes their careers.

I have spent years and a lot of effort figuring out why and how people buy products. Values are the key driver behind the “why” and they have always been at the core of our offerings. But the human decision process is complex and often even seems random.

But it’s not. It’s just six steps. So let’s take a walk with a mythical Bill as he goes through the process of buying a car.

Step 1: Context

The context is the specific need-state that drove Bill to want to buy a car