Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
This is especially apparent when task involvement is quite low or when customers are
just information browsing instead of having a specific goal. These customers may not
have a clear search strategy at all. In these cases, the consumers may be more likely to
adopt heuristic information processing rather than systematic information processing
that we normally associate with a strategy.
As such, a consumer search strategy determines that consumer's searching behav-
iors. As an example, a simple search strategy may be to look for the lowest-priced prod-
uct down to some amount, then look for the best-quality product in this price range.
Consumer searching online has certainly altered the role of advertising. For many
decades, the advertising model was one of mass media used to market to a mass audi-
ence. With limited information channels (i.e., information scarcity) for the consum-
ers, this mass model was acceptable as a means of getting commercial information
to people.
However, with increased channels for information dissemination and the quan-
tity of information (i.e., information abundance), this mass media business model is
not as effective as before, given the new online context. There are many information
choices for consumers across many mediums. The individual consumer has access to
a much more tailored information environment. Also, with Internet and Web informa-
tion channels, consumers are in greater control of what advertising information they
view, rather than passively accepting whatever is broadcast over some mass medium.
It would be a mistake, however, for advertisers to dismiss mass media approaches
as immaterial. Rarely has one communication medium totally replaced another.
Instead, the communication media get repurposed to address different needs. For
example, mass media advertising can be good at generating demand, which spon-
sored search is not so effective at achieving.
From the perspective of sponsored search and delivering tailored content, the mass
media mode of advertising is not effective. On the Internet, consumers can individ-
ually search for information concerning the products and services that they desire
to purchase. One can view the process from the perspective of the Internet being a
consumer
-
driven
information environment. In other words, the potential consumer as
a searcher
can
and
must
locate the information among several choices or locations.
This aspect of consumer search, with the consumer both in charge and responsible
for information gathering, is a fundamental aspect of sponsored search.
However, what specifically is consumer search (broadly, not just online)?
There are two basic dimensions of consumer information search modes: internal
and external [
5
].
•
Internal information search
: The internal information search construct represents
the retrieval of knowledge from memory.
•
External information search
: The external information search construct represents
the motivated acquisition of information from the environment.
Certainly, there is interplay between these two, as internal information (a.k.a., tacit
knowledge) interacts with information gathered from external searching. However, for
our focus on sponsored search, we are interested in the external information searching,
specifically on the Internet. External search precedes many consumer decisions [
6
].
