B uying an engagement ring versus a new pair of jeans; seemingly different yet uniquely identical. Variable behaviorism is the imbalance that torments the modern business like a plague. We as consumers have been conditioned by technology to vary sporadically from simple buying decisions to complex ones. Deciding on lunch and which airline you choose for your next international trip has marketing companies scrambling aimlessly to realign their purpose. After all, would you rather buy something or be sold?

The facts are, you need quality time spent developing channels and managing them.

Quality time means effort and focus on how your prospects interact with your marketing and how your leads become customers. The low hanging fruit is converting the already present traffic.

Earlier we compared flights and jeans. With flights you can compare one way tickets to round trip, connecting flights and layovers, skipped legs and more that save hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Now there are websites and apps that can put these flights together automatically making it easier than buying a new pair of bloomers.

On the other hand, there are apps that help you purchase clothing by watching video, mixing and matching outfits, sizing, and also quick delivery and no risk return policies. This has helped companies like Costco, Zappos, Amazon and more become leaders in the consumer goods industry. They mastered the art of variable journey marketing by simply recognizing consumers variable purchasing behavior and preference.

Another comparison we use to illustrate Variable Behavior and how to cater to this is Theme Parks!

• Theme parks allow you to choose what suits you as the audience or guests
• The paths toward each attraction, though controlled, allow for freedom of preference and enjoyment
• And theme parks are masters of utilizing up-selling, retargeting, cross selling, price anchoring and other marketing tactics within the customer experience or journey

By laying out a variety of attractions for your customers to interact with you give the user the ability to choose based on their buying preference. As technology continues to shape our world around us, your business will be set up to conform to these changes. By meeting the needs of the customer in a controlled and managed environment, they can move within its confines freely. 

Create systems that move with change instead of being crushed by it.

As our behavior adapts to the next big thing your company shouldn’t fall behind focused on singular tools and strategies. Time and focus on the bigger picture requires attention to detail. This is the essence of Variable Journey Marketing and achieving total marketing success.