SEARCH AS A BEHAVIORAL INSIGHTS MACHINE: A Study in Understanding Consumer Intent to Transform Media Experiences
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INTRODUCTION In order for brands to engage consumers—and drive revenue—
This booklet discusses a novel approach—developed in
they must provide highly relevant experiences that stand out in
partnership by Performics, Microsoft and Northwestern
the crowd. Brands have access to more data than ever before
University—to understand consumer intent, and the
to create these experiences, but are they using the right data,
psychological distance to action (e.g. how far a consumer is from
and using it correctly?
buying something) by analyzing the words that people type into search engines, in a scientific study. These search queries are actually intent signals that can be used to transform media and content experiences, through personalization, well beyond the
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search engine results page.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
OUR RESEARCH MISSION - UNCOVER CONSUMER INTENT
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SEARCH QUERIES AS A MEANS TO DETERMINE CONSUMERS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE TO ACTION
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BRINGING CONSTRUAL LEVELS TO LIFE FOR MARKETERS
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RESEARCH DESIGN
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STUDY FINDINGS - SEARCH QUERY REVIEW & ONLINE EXPERIMENTS
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STUDY FINDINGS - AD INTERVENTION
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INTENT-BASED PLANNING
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INTENT LAB IN ACTION - FINANCIAL SERVICES CASE STUDY
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THE POWER OF UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER INTENT Behind every consumer interaction, there’s a specific consumer intent, need or want. Intent is the single largest marketing variable; it shapes our search queries, dictates our purchase paths and mediates meaningful interactions with brands. Brands that uncover the consumer intentions and motivations behind each digital interaction are poised to deliver experiences that align to moments of intent. Observing the need in the industry to uncover consumer intent, Performics and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing 4
Communications partnered to create a research unit called the Intent Lab™ in 2016. The purpose of the Intent Lab is to find academically credible, data-driven ways to strengthen brand relevancy and engagement through an improved understanding of online consumer behavior and decision-making processes.
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Presented by Performics & Northwestern University Medill IMC
And now, the Intent Lab is collaborating on a research project with Microsoft, who is bringing its understanding of search intent from the scale of the Bing Search Network. The Intent Lab and Microsoft have conducted a new research study focused on uncovering consumer mindsets through the purchase journey, by leveraging signals from a searcher’s behavior.
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SEARCH AS A MEANS TO DETERMINE CONSUMERS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE TO ACTION Search is much more than a marketing channel for brands. It is a behavioral insights machine, uncovering hidden consumer signals to inform media planning and optimization across all channels. A consumer’s search query can reveal their psychological distance to action. Leveraging Construal Level Theory, Northwestern University hypothesized that a person’s mindset 6
is more abstract when they are further away from the goal to buy, and more concrete when they grow closer to that goal. For example, in shopping for laundry detergent, consumers who are further from the goal of buying are interested in understanding its qualities and benefits (e.g. how it removes stains), while consumers who are closer to the goal of buying are more interested about its attributes (like its price or where to find it). Queries that contain fewer concrete words and more abstract words like “why,” indicate an abstract mindset which tends to occur early in the purchase journey. On the other hand, more concrete queries with context-related verbs, like “shop” or “buy,” indicate a shorter distance to action.
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Psychological Distance Small
(Temporal, spacial, social...)
Large
Low
Constructural Level
High
Concrete, complicated, unstructured, not integrated, contextual, secondary, superficial, low, unrelated to goals, corresponds to “how” questions
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Abstract, simple, structured, integrated, out of context, primary, neutral, related to high goals, corresponds to “why” questions
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BRINGING CONSTRUAL LEVELS TO LIFE FOR MARKETERS In designing our study, the Intent Lab hypothesized that construal levels could be identified in search query data. We believed that these queries could be used to determine psychological distance from a goal, identifying consumer intent within moments (e.g. browsing vs. buying). We set out to test this hypothesis, which, if true, would enable marketers to identify shopping goals from search queries and match ads and experiences—in search results and other marketing channels—to those specific goals, increasing the relevance, level of personalization, and engagement. 8
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RESEARCH DESIGN 1 SEARCH QUERY REVIEW
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PURPOSE - Identify abstract concrete cues in search query terms
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DATA - 24,247 search queries that drove traffic to 14 CPG websites (e.g. Tide, Dove, Pampers) ONLINE EXPERIMENTS PURPOSE - Test the casual links between consumer goals, the abstractness/concreteness of online searches and behavioral intentions in a closed setting
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AD INTERVENTION STUDY PURPOSE - Test whether consumers who use an abstract query are more likely to click on an abstract ad, and whether consumers who use a concrete query are more likely to click on a concrete ad DATA - 3000 clicks from A/B test of actual click- through rates (CTRs) of abstract and concrete beauty ads by searchers entering abstract and concrete queries,using actual click-through rates (CTRs) as a measure of relevance.
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DATA - 3 separate lab experiments with 435 participants
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KEY RESEARCH STUDY FINDINGS THE SEARCH QUERY REVIEW REVEALED: Searches can be identified as either abstract or concrete
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Abstract and concrete queries do align with where consumers are in the purchase journey
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THE CONTROLLED ONLINE EXPERIMENTS REVEALED When given a buying goal, participants executed searches that were ~15% more concrete [less abstract] than participants who had been given a browsing goal
Participants who executed concrete (vs. abstract) searches were ~30% more likely to prefer concrete (vs. abstract) search results
When given a browsing goal, participants were ~20% more likely to click on a search result that emphasized the word “best” (an abstract word), whereas those who were given a buying goal were ~180% more likely to click on a search result that emphasized the word “shop” (a concrete word)
Participants who executed concrete searches (vs. abstract) were ~135% more likely to click on retailer search results (vs. non-retailer, where they’re not able to buy right then)
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AD INTERVENTION STUDY In the Beauty Products category, three live ad campaigns were run, bidding on keywords with different levels of concreteness: “how” (most abstract), “best” (abstract) and “buy” (concrete). These campaigns included the same beauty product terms for all treatments. Findings included: Click-through rates increased when matching concrete/abstract search keywords with concrete/abstract advertisements, respectively. For example, when a consumer searched for an abstract term (e.g. “best”) and was shown an abstract (vs. a concrete) ad, the consumer was 17% more likely to click on the ad. 12
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INTENT BASED PLANNING With the mission of converting intent into revenue for our clients, Performics developed its proprietary strategic planning framework, Intent-Based Planning. Learnings from the Intent Lab research studies continue to fuel our planning framework.
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INTENT BASED PLANNING IN ACTION The most recent Intent Lab study, in
THE INTENT SCORING ALGORITHM
partnership with Microsoft, helped us to create a brand new methodology. The Intent Scoring Algorithm’s aim is to create more relevant brand experiences.
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FINANCIAL SERVICES CASE STUDY We recently put this algorithm to work for a financial services client: CHALLENGE Consumers turn to search engines for financial services information. But they’re not always getting the most relevant ads. 16
STRATEGY Performics created the Intent Scoring Algorithm to identify key consumer mindsets associated with a searcher ’s step in the consumer j o u r n e y, b a s e d o n l e a r n i n g s f r o m t h e Construal Level Theory. Our algorithm codes every search keyword in an advertiser ’s account based on the level of concreteness/ abstractness and then uses this measure to identify the consumer’s place in their journey.
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OUTPUTS In paid search, the intent-based tracking system enabled us
RESULTS The alignment of keywords to intent mindsets allowed for more
to adjust the keyword bidding and ad-copy strategy based on
tailored ad copy, bids and landing page experiences that drove
consumer intent. In organic and paid content, this helped us to
conversions and increased efficiency.
prioritize the most relevant consumer demand themes for the brand, assessing a variety of elements, including competitiveness and volume. This new lens provided clear direction on where to focus budget and energy. 17
ORGANIC
ORGANIC
PAID
Contoso Bank- Online Certificate of Deposit Ad www.contoso.com/Online-Banking Certificate of Deposit Explained. Learn More!
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For more information on how to leverage these learnings for your brand, reach out to Joe Reinstein, Performics Global Growth Officer at Joe.Reinstein@Performics.com
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To download a full whitepaper of this research, and to access more intent insights, including the Digital Satisfaction Index™ (DSI)—our quarterly index of consumer attitudes and perceptions of online marketing—visit IntentLab.org.
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