I'm currently reading The Ultimate Marketing Plan by Dan Kennedy (always listen to Dan!) and it has a useful list in it on the 5 steps people make before they buy something. The steps are:
- Awareness of need and/or desire
- Picking the "thing" that fulfills the need/desire
- Picking the source of the thing
- Accepting the source's price/value argument
- Finding a reason to act now
Now all of these steps are important but I want to hone in on steps 2 and 3 as it applies to a client that I'm currently working with.
What are you really selling?
While I can't get specific with client details this is an interesting dilemma that I find many businesses face. It involves different levels of what they're selling and how we break those down. It's also about answering all of the questions in a buyers mind.
To explain better I've made up example to substitute for my real client.
The different levels of car buying
If you want to buy a car then there are a few different levels of decisions to make. I would say the first one is if you want to buy a new or used car. So if you own a used car lot you want to first sell the benefits of buying a used car over a new one.
On the next level you realize there are also a number of other used car businesses in the world so you'll need to sell the benefits of buying from your particular used car lot over all other competitors.
When all this is done you can finally start trying to sell the actual product to the prospect (in this example one particular car). You'll also notice that there might be other levels such as a particular brand or type of car the person wants.
Why is this important?
Consumers are surrounded by choices. They are pulverized with marketing messages every second of every day. This makes their buying decisions very hard.
I believe our main job as business owners is to provide our prospects with the best possible solution to their need or desire. This involves making them aware of the possibilities but then guiding them towards the best choice for them. The sale doesn't come from railroading someone into buying your product (at least not if you want a repeat sale) but from helping them make the right choice for them.
By stepping through the various levels we clarify why they should buy what we suggest. We back up their emotional feelings with logical reasons. So when the time comes all they have to do is hand over the money.
The dangers of not following this process
I find many clients who only compete on a 2 dimensional level rather than the 3 (or more) dimensional levels we discussed above. Why this may seem like a silly example imagine a car dealer who has marketing that only states "We have used cars!" And then stop laughing because many businesses do this on a daily basis without realizing.
While you may not spell out every level in the process completely (or let people skip levels as required) you still need to be aware of the levels and be ready to guide people through them. At the end of the day it's important to ensure your prospects turn into buyers.
What you do next
It's time to go back and step through the process like someone who has never even heard of you before. Ask yourself if you're answering all the questions and giving enough justification to purchase what you're offering. I think you'll find you aren't and if you really want to challenge me on this then feel free to post in the comments.
And of course you can also post if you want help breaking down the levels in your own business or industry based on a complete outsiders ignorance. This is usually the best way to go as it gives us a fresh perspective and allows us to see how other people view our business.
