The 1-2-3 of Customers
Customers have three basic thoughts when they are buying. Understanding these makes getting the sale so much easier. Not understanding makes losing a sale much easier too.
When a person wants to buy something they go through a three stage cycle that starts before you meet the customer and finishes far after the money and product have changed hands. I have spoken of this cycle before in my article on showing your prices. In that article I say that the three steps repeat but in this article I will expand on that. Here are the three steps again:
- The Dream – does this thing fit my dream?
- The Reality – what does it do?
- The Trade – what do I have to do to have this?
 The Dream-Reality-Trade Cycle we all pass through for every decision |
The Dream always exists, sometimes conscious, sometimes not. Sometimes we know that a new pair of shoes will make us feel better. Others times we just get pleasure from thinking about cool shoes. We are always potential shoe purchasers (well at least I am). The dream is deeper than shoes and their ownership though. Knowing that the ownership of shoes is related to a deeper need makes buying a broader proposition that merely getting a deal. Buying shoes, or anything else, is a soul transaction.
Let me tell you why I buy shoes. I am male and I adore lovely shoes. I will stop in front of expensive ladies’ shoe stores just to look at the things of beauty. I appreciate the beauty of form and function even though I have no use myself. I have long bought shoes rather carefully for myself simply because growing up in the early 80’s the wrong shoes could ruin a rock star faster than an unhappy blond. Image is/was everything and I swallowed that one whole. I wanted to be Adam Ant, Duran Duran, Billy Idol etc. Buying the right shoes gets me closer to the dream of being special like these heroes.
These are my dancing shoes You may not like them but they are the dream into action for me (thanks Howard) |
In the the Dream stages of purchase, much of the activity and drive is largely unconscious. People know that they are driven by something but not necessarily what or why. A lot of the emotions at this point are driven by deeper psychological patterns.
The Reality is that I won’t buy every shoe I like, even if they are pretty. I need my shoes to do certain things for me. They must have the right features. Many a shoe salesman has fallen at this stage from not listening to me when I tell them what I need. Some others have done really well and bought my loyalty even if not a sale on the spot. I used to wear boots till one day in frustration after tearing up another pair of Dr Martens dancing on stage I found myself in a sport store of all places and the girl there listened to my complaints and wants. I wanted to: be cool like a rock star, free to throw some serious shapes and not have to get new kicks in a few months. She said how about some Vans skate shoes. My first thought was, “You have to be kidding, I ain’t no little rubber kid who wears sneakers, I don’t even know why I’m in here”, and on… She simply said, “No, these are really strong shoes, light and will last.” She very wisely (or luckily) plucked down a pair of blue suede Vans and said, “Put these on and see how they feel”. I did and I miss those shoes many years after.
Finding out if a prospective product fits the customer’s dream is a process of “matching”. The customer will take all the factors that he or she considers important (i.e. part of the dream), rank them in order of value and then match these defined wants with the product/s on offer. If a product is a good match then it is on to the next stage.
This part of the process is generally fairly conscious. Some people even go so far as to make a set of lists and tick sheets on each competing product. Many others collect brochures and spread them out on the floor to compare. Web sites are a wonderful way of getting a lot of features (and supporting information) across to customers.
The Trade is where a consumer will evaluate whether what they have to do to get the object of their desire is greater or less than the pleasure of fulfilling the dream. The customer is always looking for value – often expressed as a “bargain”. Value is achieved the moment the cost or trade for the item is equal to or less than the perceived payoff for achieving the dream.
Dream + Reality >= Trade or Desires + Features >= Price
The moment that what a person has to give up is equal to or less than the perceived value of a product then they will most likely purchase without opposition. If we look at the trade in purely dollar terms (easy to quantify but misses much of the point) then the yes/no decision at the Trade point is something like:
- If Perceived Value is $5 and Price Tag is $6 then there is no sale.
- If Perceived Value is $6 and Price Tag is $6 then there is a possible sale but opposition may have to be overcome.
- If Perceived Value is $7 and Price Tag is $6 then there is an immediate sale.
If I desire a Mercedes Benz but am unwilling (most will say “unable” but I think unwilling is the real answer) to spend the price tag then it doesn’t mean that my dream of a Benz has evaporated. I can re-evaluate and look at a top-of-the-line Hyundai Sonata. If the look and feature set are able to fill enough of my luxury car dream and I am willing to part with the more modest price tag then I will drive around in my Hyundai as if I were a King. Look at drivers of this car and you will see what I mean.
As mentioned before, every person goes through these three stages many times, before, during and after every purchase. Some purchases seem immediate while some take a long time to complete. All this time the three stages are being visited, over and over again in varying detail. There is no set time for each stage. Some customers will be repeatedly flipping through all three stages in milliseconds as they stand in front of you. Others will stay in one stage for extended periods of time.
If one of the states can’t be resolved then there will either be a total walk-away event or a process of re-evaluation is undertaken. If you have a customer stuck on price or features then re-visit the reasons for the purchase (the dream) and you may just open them up.
I looked at TUK shoes on the internet on and off for about a year before I purchased the zebra pair you see above. The sneakers cost $135 which while a little high was less than I had paid for a pair of Ltd. Ed. Lakai at $180 a few years before. The thing that held me back was that I couldn’t see the shoes in Brisbane. I could only mail order or fly to Melbourne. The shoes were a shoe-in (snigger) for my Dream stage. The fact I couldn’t see the shoes myself was a Reality stage issue which I had to a great extent overcome by seeing the shoes on a few touring musicians. The cost of flying to Melbourne, added to the cost of the shoes, was greater than I was prepared to pay to look so cool so the Trade was too much whilst that impediment was there.
The local shop who eventually stocked TUKs would not have know this whole story (without me telling them). I would have just been a guy with big hair who came in and bought a pair of stripy shoes real easy.
There are a few aberrations that can occur to jam a spanner in the works of fulfilling dreams properly. These aberrations can include:
- Dreams (desires) happen of their own accord so they are hard to stop but if there is a psychological trauma then the dreams can become distorted and lead people to wants that are destructive. These habits should be broken before they break the person.
- Some customers will deny that there is any dream, that their purchase is purely out of logic and necessity. Many people may feel this way about petrol. Think carefully though as what will lack of petrol in your car do to your life? It will save you a few dollars but it will also make travel anywhere rather tedious. Petrol = freedom. Denying the dream part of any purchase will lead to resentment that will most likely be taken out in the wrong place like at the servo attendant or in the political process.
- It is possible to block a dream from becoming a Reality by being too fussy about the details. Details are important but only in so much as they support the dream, beyond that they are blocking. Kenny Rogers wanted to be a Jazz singer but life didn’t work out that way for him. He could have held out and had a small career but Kenny’s desire to be a singer outweighed the Jazz part and he followed the options reality presented and became one of the most loved singers in Country and Pop – that ultimately allowed him to release a record of Jazz standards (not a bad record but not great either).
- The Trade is probably where the most damage is done by aberrant behavior. Heroin junkies will trade everything they have in a (misguided) attempt to fill their dream. Chronically depressed people will refuse to make any trade at all, rendering their lives static and unchanging. Both are extremes that fail. While the junkie’s case seems like a Reality issue, or poor choices, the deeper cause is an unwillingness to pay the price of having the life they want. Not being willing to pay is good when preventing us from falling for any rubbish that passes. All too often not being willing to pay the price cripples people and economies with mediocrity, depression, and lost productivity (joy).
- Worry that you have done the right thing after a purchase is normal. Not a very useful thing but we insist on re-visiting the three stages again. Sometimes this happens so much we destroy the joy of the thing. “Buyers Remorse” is a habit that has to be broken simply because you can never change the past – you have the thing now. You made the best decision you could at the time, even if it was wrong in hindsight. You can only move forward now. Maybe you could sell the thing and cut your losses or you could see what opportunities it offers you. Maybe your dream is smarter than your brain lets on.
So as you build your sales process I hope that you will realize and take into account the real reasons that people purchase from you. If you can fulfill all three of these stages well in the people who come to your web site, you are sure to develop the types of customer that you would just love to photocopy. These customers will close themselves, brim with happiness and refer you widely.
If you want me to work with your business then please visit BRM Web Consulting
