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Understanding the
Buying Process Can Increase Your Sales
by Karon
Thackston © 2003
http://www.copywritingcourse.com
Most marketers don't give
a lot of thought to the buying processes of their
customers. That's a shame. Lending due attention to the
buying process can have a dramatic effect on your sales.
What is the buying
process? Where does your customer fall within it? How
can you use it to help bring your customer to the
point-of-purchase? Follow me as we take a look at the
decisions customers must make before deciding to buy.
Each and every one of us
goes through some sort of buying process when we make a
purchase. At times the process is long and labored - as
when buying a new computer. At other moments it happens
almost without thought - when buying a box of your
favorite cereal, for instance. But make no mistake… it
does happen.
Generally speaking, the
buying process consists of five steps. Those
products/services that are new to the market, are new to
your customer, or are very expensive will require a
longer period of consideration in each phase.
Products/services that are familiar, that have market
longevity, or that cost very little will require a
shorter (even instantaneous) process.
Step One - Need/Want
Recognition
During this step, buyers
realize they want or need something. They recognize that
they have a problem or a desire, and they choose to find
a solution. If this need or want is something along the
lines of lunch, the buying decision can be made
relatively quickly, without much thought of the actual
buying process. Hunger is a quick problem to solve, most
options are familiar to buyers, and the cost is usually
low.
If the need or want is a
new car, however, the actual buying decision can take
weeks or months. There is a greater risk, new models and
features come out all the time, the cost is high, and
the possibility of making a "mistake" when
buying is great.
Step Two - Information
Search
Once the choice has been
made to fill a need or want, your customer begins to
search for information in order to make a quality
decision that is in his/her best interest. Web sites may
be visited (in which case you should offer some way for
the customer to remember you, such as printable versions
of information, downloadable brochures and catalogs, a
way to bookmark your site, etc.). Brochures may be
gathered (be sure to offer your contact information).
Phone calls might be placed (check to ensure you or your
call staff has the information they need to answer
questions). Free samples, test drives, and other means
of "trial" work wonderfully to guide your
customer through the information search stage and onto
the evaluation and purchase stages.
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Step
Three - Evaluation
After your customers have
collected all the information they feel is necessary,
they begin to evaluate their options and narrow their
choices until they finally pick the one thing that they
are comfortable with, and that they can afford. This is
the time to follow-up with your customers. Is there
additional information they need in order to choose? Did
they have problems with the free sample that can be
corrected? Your "presence" during the
evaluation stage is important, so do your best to retain
customer contact information in order to
"gently" offer any additional details the
buyer might need. (Nobody likes a hard sell, or to be
pushed into buying.)
Step Four - Purchase
Once all the information
has been evaluated, a purchase is made, and your
customer walks away happy… right? Well… not always.
Step Five - Cognitive
Dissonance (Post Purchase Anxiety)
While customers may have
thought they chose the best solution when they
purchased, many times customers later experience
cognitive dissonance, a.k.a. buyers' regret. They second
guess their decision and begin to feel uncomfortable
about their decision. This is where trial periods,
guarantees, and/or warranties come into play.
Customers will have more
confidence in their decision, even after it is made, if
they know they aren't "stuck" with their
purchase. Having a guarantee to fall back on gives them
the comfort to know that - should something go wrong -
they won't be left stranded. Generally speaking, a
guarantee is a psychological support rather than a
literal one. Most customers never take advantage of
guarantees… they don't think they need to. However, if
a guarantee wasn't offered, the anxiety of feeling
"all alone" would overcome many buyers and
persuade them into asking for a refund.
Understanding each step
in the buying process can help you structure your
selling process and your marketing materials to cater to
the customer. Take the time to consider what your
customer goes through when making the choice to buy, and
alter your business accordingly. In doing so, you'll
increase your chances of making more sales, and landing
more satisfied customers.
Most
buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should be,
too! Let Karon write targeted copy and ezine articles
for you. Visit her site at http://www.marketingwords.com,
or learn to write your own copy at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.
Don’t forget to subscribe to Karon’s free ezine at http://www.marketingwords.com/ezine.html.
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