Sell more by understanding why shoppers buy from you

If you are like most companies, you have a core group of shoppers that are your loyal customers and then you have others that buy your product or service on occasion and some who try your brand and never buy again. 

Do you know each of these groups behave the way they do?  Do you know why your customers buy your product?  Do you know why others never buy your product?

Let’s start with the reasons people buy—what drives them to consider and buy a product or service.  Your brand may fall into multiple purchase decision categories for different customer segments.  Which of these are the most likely reasons your customers buy from you?  There may be other reasons / purchase behaviors for your category, but likely most of your customers can be found on this list.

·         Replacement – replacing something that is used up or broken.   A less frequent purchase, but usually one where someone knows what kind of product they want to buy.

·         Routine – buy regularly from an acceptable set of products or services.  You may be the only product they buy in this category or part of a rotational set of product (or services).  Canned soup, breakfast cereal and fast food restaurants are representative of this behavior for many.

·         Brand loyal—this too can be a routine, habitual purchase.  But these shoppers are brand loyal.  Discounts, special offers will not cause these loyal shoppers to switch.  Brands like Budweiser, Heinz Ketchup and McDonalds may or may not offer the very best product, but they have a loyal following.   Do you provide your customers a reason to be loyal to your brand?

·         Variety seeking—someone who is loyal to a category, but wants to try something new.  A good example is seeking variety when chosing a restaurant.  Condiments, fashion, beauty salons and car shopping can fall into this behavior.

·         Seasonal—the time of certain events or seasonal weather, these category purchase decisions increase at certain times of year.  Examples include:  gardening, hunting, swim suits and Christmas decorations.  Due to the seasonal nature of these selling seasons, sales happen in a shorter time window.  Understanding why shoppers will want your product and how to market it can make or break your year.

·         New & improved—people are often looking for the next new thing.  They are willing to try something new to see if it offers a real improvement, a better value or a solution that simplifies their life.

·         Brand switching to upgrade—like new & improved shoppers, many customers will search for a better product or service if they are not completely satisfied with their current product.  Do you provide a better solution?  Do you communicate these benefits so others know to try your brand?  If your customers are not truly satisfied, you need to re-engage them before they seek better value elsewhere.

·         Brand Mom/Dad/person of influence always uses—sometimes it is easier to trust someone who has more experience.  Many brands are bought because it is the brand that Mom always used.  Friends, neighbors, celebrities, professionals and doctors are other influencers depending on the category.

·         Brand switching to seek value / cut costs—in today’s economy people are looking for value.  Some are willing to reduce value for a lower price.  But if you let your shoppers make decisions only on price, you are missing an opportunity to communicate and sell your unique value.  Most shoppers will pay more if they believe the value for the money is worth it.

·         Indulgence—small indulgences are a hot trend this year.  Can your product and service offer this benefit?  Chocolate, Starbuck’s, fashion shoes and microbrew beer are categories that benefit from this trend.

·         Gift purchase—not everyone is shopping for themselves.  Purchase motivations and personal constraints change when they are buying a gift.

·         Impulse—these people saw your product or place of business and on impulse decided to try it.  For some categories this can be over 20% of purchases.  Understand what drives this behavior for your shoppers.

Each of these purchase behaviors have different buying motivations and purchase criteria.  If you assume all off your customers have the same reason for buying your product or service, you are missing the opportunity to segment your customers and grow your business with customers who buy for different reasons.

If you have not recently conducted research to understand who your shoppers and customers are, and why they buy, you have a great opportunity to boost your business in this year.

GrowthSpring Group is a market research, marketing strategy and innovation firm focused on accelerating your sales and profit growth. We help you identify new business growth insights & opportunities and execute winning strategies & plans. www.GrowthSpringGroup.com