Customer Purchase Decision Making Process Part 2

Another important factor we have identified in the customer purchase making process is the attitudes and dispositions they develop about your brand.

If there is a negative emotional judgment made about an aspect of your brand there are several ways you can change this to positively influence your prospects.

First is to focus on the authority figures who can influence your prospects attitude. Things such as Consumer magazines, celebrities, government and consumer advocacy groups can positively influence your prospect.


You also want to deconstruct the underlying reasons why a prospect is motivated to buy your brand and then analyze anything getting in the way of making a purchase.


You can also use the AIDA formula to help understand what psycho-emotional process your customer is going through.


AIDA stands for...


Attention
Interest
Desire
Action


Generally these stages occur in order. First capturing your prospects attention, getting them interested in what you have to offer, building desire for your product, and finally getting them to take an action.


There are other behavior models for how a consumer may move to a purchase which you should consider when evaluating your marketing.


The Think-Feel-Do model is another process for how purchase decisions are made. The interesting thing about the TFD model is that it is not linear.


Customers may feel first, do, then think. Or feel, then think, then do. Which order a prospect takes is usually dependent upon the type of purchase;


For transactions with higher risk, or areas where the prospect has less confidence, they are more likely to take a think first approach.

With areas of a low perceived risk  or where the prospect holds more confidence, they are likely to follow feeling first.

For example you do not read the ingredients list and spend 5 minutes analyzing the merits of various soft drink brands. Instead you just go with what you feel like having.

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

This is Maslows famous pyramid of psychological needs. We can define a need as something a person feels that they must have. The lower you go on the pyramid, the more powerful the desire is.

However in todays society the lower parts of the pyramid are generally able to be fulfilled very easily - so most marketing efforts are focused on the higher levels of the pyramid.

Which area do you think you could most effectively use to sell your products or services and strengthen your brand?

Customer Purchase Decision Making Process Part 1

There are many factors to consider which affect your customers decision making process.

In this series we will go in depth into how your customers make their purchase decisions - and how to influence them to choose your products over your competitiors.

So the question is, what affects consumer purchase decisions? One of the things we know that affects it is community. Your customers are a part of a larger social group.

The thoughts, ideas, and feelings of this larger group context have a powerful impact on what decisions your customer makes.

Marketing programs seek to connect their brands with a community of other brand advocates.

Organizations such as Ferrari have strong insular cultures where owners are friends with one another, belong to special clubs and receive brand messages both as a community and as individuals.

We have also found that influence from family and friends can have a powerful effect over a consumers decision making process. Publicity and word-of-mouth campaigns can be extremely effective at tipping a purchase decision in your favour.

We also see influencer's in the consumers life which can alter their attitudes towards a brand. This sphere of influence includes people personally involved in the consumers life and also public figures and authorities.

Its important to understand the people who are capable of influencing the decisions of your target market - then actively using those influencer's to help generate favorable opinions of your brand in your prospects.

You must also remember that prospects are influenced by those they do not want to be like.

Endorsements from a negative or undesirable source can hurt your brand reputation and negatively affect the decision to purchase.

The "Share Of Wallet" Concept

Many people are familiar with the 80/20 principle in marketing. Which is that 80% of your revenues will come from about 20% of your customer base.

However, there is another concept which you can use to help increase your profitability. This is whats known as "share of wallet."

Share of wallet is what percentage of a customers spending in your product cataloger is spent on your company. Think of it this way. You offer health and wellness products. Your customer is a devoted health enthusiast.

They spend on average $25 a week on products from your company. They also spend $13 a week on company B, and $31 a week on company C.

This means the total spending by this customer is $69 per week, of which you have a $25 share of wallet or 36%.

By analyzing your customers spending habits and devising ways to increase your brands share of wallet - you can increase your company profits.