It’s a new month and you are probably analyzing your targets for February. Did you attract more customers to your business last month or did you chase them away?
To attract customers, you need to understand their mindset and what influences them to buy. Once you can understand the mindset of the buyer, then it can be helpful with your marketing efforts. For essentials items, the buyer’s decision is usually made in split seconds but for non-essential products or services, the decisions are usually in stages which are listed below.
KNOW
People tend to buy from people they know. So a good strategy is to get people to know about your products and services. You can achieve this through networking, social media engagements, email marketing, strategic advert placements, blogging, making catchy videos, giving out samples of your products, speaking engagements, podcasts, webinars, etc. The more people you know, the luckier you will become with your marketing goals.
LIKE
As the buyer gets more familiar with what you have on offer, they may begin to like your products and services. And if they like you, they may buy from you. You can draw more likes from social media, from what you put out on your website, newsletters, and blogging. Brand awareness is a great marketing strategy to build the likeability factor. In addition, the more the buyer hears from you on a live interview, podcast, or at a speaking engagement, then the more likely they will like you.
TRUST
Once a buyer likes your products and services, then they will begin to trust you. They will start to trust the communication that you are putting out there. Branding is a big key to trust. A person will pay triple for a Prada bag against a normal leather bag because the Prada bag makes the person buying it feel valuable, special, and important. How does your brand make people feel? Have you been intentional about evoking an emotion?
TRY
Buyers often want to try products or services before deciding to buy, so you can offer free reports, taster events, educative information, and other nurturing activities that get consumers to try first. Humans have been conditioned to believe that if someone gives us something, we should give them back in return, which is called reciprocity. That is why free samples can be powerful. When a customer tries out a free product or sample it makes them more likely to buy from you.
REPEAT
Once the buyer is satisfied with the products or services they will probably buy it again, so you can create loyalty schemes that make them come back for more. Remember it’s harder to get a customer because you have to spend a bit on advertising, so why not nurture and care for the ones that you already have so that they can be lifetime customers.
REFER
There is something to be said for referrals. They are powerful. People tend to trust referrals from their community. Testimonials are also great. If someone we admire endorses a product or service, we are more likely to buy. Make sure positive references are shared about your business to your target audience.
A satisfied buyer will become your raving fans. If you have gone the extra mile to delight them, they will talk about your services or products on social media and other platforms and refer you to others.
So which of the following tactics are you going to focus on this month, to attract your customers instead of chasing them away?
