You know. It’s about us, ordinary Kowalski, surfing the Internet. The digital industry calls us differently: users, personas, customers, people. I like to call us homo sapiens in the context of online activities and behavior. It reminds me that we are also a species that has a specific set of instincts and commonalities. This collection has accompanied us from the very beginning, also today, in times when we are all precisely divided into segments and target groups.

I like to call us homo sapiens in the context of online activities and behavior.

Thinking about people’s characteristics as a species that is developing not only in space and real-time but also online networks, I came to the conclusion that, and probably the majority of you will agree with me, homo sapiens likes to be spoiled. My partner would probably point out that I shouldn’t call people, clients, clients of our clients that way because it’s rude. However, I believe that anyone who tries to establish contact with other representatives of this species in Poland through the aforementioned online network should assume in their strategy that they are dealing with a creature who likes to be pampered and to a large extent has already been spoiled. This will be of special importance when we want to sell something to this creature via an online network. 

Homo sapiens is an interesting species. It puts a lot of effort and works into developing technology that is to ensure its comfort and safety. Paradoxically, the species undertakes these activities all the time, never stopping its work of developing comfort. Easily adapts to subsequent convenient ideas of its representatives. Moreover, he expects that every convenient novelty will be quickly adopted by most of his fellow tribesmen in such a way as to eventually become a convenient standard. I know it sounds general. But think about the situation when you are frustrated because you have to pay for the possibility to park your car on the street in the city center, and there is no possibility of paying by card at the parking meter? You don’t have cash, and organizing 5 zlotys in a physical form in such a situation can be very difficult. Or when you can enter a shop/office only wearing a protective mask, and there is no machine with face masks in front of the building. Or worse it is, but – again – there is no card payment option (I experienced it myself a few days ago). So let’s be honest,  we love convenience. 

The Internet, a worldwide web, has evolved out of the need for convenience. Thanks to it, we can contact each other without the need to travel. Our fellow tribesmen first used desktop computers (initially not always private), then mobile computers, now with handy little „smartphones” can communicate with each other in various forms. They write messages, publish photos, share opinions, learn about the possibilities of developing their comfort by using various services offered by other representatives of the species. They talk while seeing each other, they even fall in love with each other. Homo Sapiens also buy through their computers and smartphones. They buy, meaning, in exchange for a fixed currency, they receive various things and services that make them happy, give them comfort and safety. It is the need for comfort and security that is the key here.

Homo sapiens will definitely choose any type of service or product that will make life easier for them in their everyday life – in a safe way – that is. For example, one that is popular among most other representatives of the genre. We are characterized by many common features, regardless of our origin. Both in Australia and in Poland, our heroes value comfort and safety on the Internet. According to research organized by Gemius recently, the most active group in the network in our country are people aged between 35-49, with an average level of education, with an average income, and living in cities with an average population in the country. If we wanted to establish contact on the Internet with the largest possible number of individuals in Poland, it is this group that should be expected to have the greatest number of interactions. Therefore, we can certainly say that activities such as free delivery of goods, the possibility of returning the selected goods a long time after purchase, the possibility of conveniently comparing the price of the goods sought, quick access to information on the goods sought, will definitely have a positive impact on the expected interaction effect.

By creating the system in such a way that Homo Sapiens feels comfortable and safe in the space of our brand or organization so that at every stage of contact with our environment, it knows that it is making the right choice, we will gain a user who willingly returns and recommends the chosen space to others.

The universal need for comfort and safety is confirmed by the results of studies provided by Divante and Kantar. They indicate that in the coming years, Homo Sapiens will just invest and develop technologies related to comfort and safety on the Internet. The development and standardization of mobile payments, the possibility of shopping in social media applications, free deliveries, and free returns are unquestionable functions that clearly respond to the need for convenience and security. Technologies based on artificial intelligence will take care of the effect of the feeling of a good choice, giving the impression of personalized content displayed on devices on the one hand, and on the other hand, by automating certain processes, will ensure the convenience of those recipients who are obliged to create such content. As we can see, the species’ striving for a feeling of comfort and safety is as natural for them as it is for them to strive for a soap bubble to achieve the shape of a perfect ball.

Observing people’s behavior from a distance allows us to determine the direction of development of the mentioned comfort and safety. The fact that recently as much as 70% of traffic/activity online is generated by a mobile device, not a desktop computer (in Poland, 56% of traffic) suggests that when planning a sales strategy, this channel should be considered the leading one.

There are currently 7.6 billion individuals on our planet, and in 2018 alone, they downloaded mobile apps 194 billion times to their smartphones – the largest number of which are social, streaming, and sales applications. Homo sapiens want to buy a lot – but conveniently and safely. Online shopping is usually safe these days. Added to this is the convenience of not having to leave our safe space, the one we live in, which makes us shop everywhere. Homo sapiens love to observe each other. In the virtual network, they created social applications, thanks to which they can follow the actions of their fellow tribesmen. By observing them, they increase the sense of belonging to their species, normality, and also belonging to selected subgroups. They inspire each other. When they feel the presence of others, they feel safe.

That is why the most popular social applications are slowly turning into sales applications for a reason. Because elsewhere, the recipient may feel more comfortable and safer than in the place where most of his relatives are. Purchases through social mobile applications are made by one in three adult residents of the USA – the homo sapiens group, which is sometimes considered a leader in the technological development of the entire planet. The user can now make convenient and safe purchases in applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat, and this possibility is already being tested by the owners of Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok applications. This goes hand in hand with the fact that the spoiled representative of the species will use the content found online 11 times before making the final purchasing decision, regardless of whether the final purchase is made online or in real space.

The whole process is, of course, much more complex. However, I am sure that, bearing in mind the specificity of the species of men – of spoiled Homo Sapiens – you are able to increase the number of contacts with representatives of this species in the space you want to create for them: regardless of whether it is a website, service, system, mobile app – remember about comfort and safety, the effect of a good decision. In the sales spaces of a global network, take care of personalized messages and easy access to content. If your space is visited by homo sapiens and you duly greet them, make them feel safe, there is a chance that they will stay for longer. When they’re settled, show them that they’re not the only one, other people like them have also noticed comfort and safety in the space you have created. When they decide to exchange money for the goods or service you offer, make sure that the process of this exchange is known to them, the payment method is safe and as comfortable as possible. Make them know that even when the exchange takes place (goods/service for currency), they will be able to return the goods for free when they change their mind – there is a good chance that they will love you.

Now consider whether the shopping space you create or have created is an environment that representatives of the homo sapiens species will gladly visit.