Selling products and services is tough, especially in a world overflowing with options for nearly everything. Growing sales becomes a huge challenge as you face new competitors entering the market and old ones leaving.
If you’re in a big company, you have a team of marketing and product experts tirelessly brainstorming strategies to secure a win.
One of the critical strategies involves not just understanding who the product or service is intended for, but also identifying who will actually make the purchase and the buying process they go through to do so.
Let’s talk about this process in more details.
What is the Buying Process?
First off, understanding the buying process is crucial because it acts as a guide through the complex world of consumer behavior. It explains why people make purchases, the steps they take before deciding, and how marketers or businesses can impact this decision-making process to their advantage.
This knowledge is not just important; it’s essential for success. It’s what separates ineffective efforts from those that accurately reach and influence potential customers.
Buyer vs. User: Spotting the Difference
It’s key to differentiate between the buyer and the user. Often, the person who buys a product isn’t the one who’ll ultimately use it. Consider a situation where a parent buys a laptop for their child heading off to college. In this scenario, the parent is the buyer, and the child is the user.
Recognizing this difference can dramatically influence how a product is marketed and designed.
The 5 Stages of the Buying Process
- Problem Recognition: This is the trigger for the buying journey. It’s when a need is identified that a product or service can satisfy. For instance, a new family realizes their current apartment is too cramped for their growing needs and decides it’s time to look for a bigger place.
- Information Gathering: With a clear problem in mind, the family, particularly the mother who is leading the buying decision, starts researching. She dives into real estate listings, reads neighborhood reviews, and checks out schools in potential areas, amassing all the necessary information to find the perfect home.
- Evaluating Solutions: Armed with information, the mother begins to compare options. She weighs the advantages and disadvantages of each potential home, considering factors like location, size, neighborhood safety, and whether the yard is big enough for her kids to play in. It’s all about sifting through the options to find the ideal match.
- Purchase Phase: Decision time arrives. The family, guided by the mother’s research and decision-making, selects a home that best fits their criteria. They move forward with making an offer, negotiating terms, and, hopefully, closing the deal. This phase is filled with paperwork, financial decisions, and a bit of anxiety as they await the final word.
- The Post-Purchase Phase: After the purchase, as the family settles into their new home, the mother reflects on the decision. She considers if the home lives up to their expectations, if the neighborhood feels right, and whether the purchase was worth it. Her satisfaction, or lack thereof, could influence future decisions and potentially turn her into a promoter or detractor of the real estate agent or company involved.
Understanding Your Buyer’s Process
Understanding your buyer’s process involves a few key steps that help you get into the minds of your potential customers. Here’s how you can do it:
- Research Your Audience: Start by gathering as much information as you can about your potential buyers. This can include demographic data, interests, pain points, and buying habits. Surveys, interviews, and analyzing data from social media and website analytics are great ways to gather insights.
- Map Out the Buyer’s Journey: Break down the path a buyer takes from realizing they have a need (Problem Recognition) to considering different options (Information Gathering and Evaluating Solutions) and finally making a purchase (Purchase Phase). Don’t forget the Post-Purchase Phase, where buyers evaluate their decision. Each stage involves different thoughts, questions, and behaviors.
- Identify Touchpoints: Determine where and how buyers interact with your brand throughout their journey. This could be through social media, your website, online ads, customer service, or even word of mouth. Understanding these touchpoints helps you know where to focus your marketing efforts.
- Analyze Pain Points and Obstacles: Look for common problems or questions that arise during the buyer’s journey. What hesitations do they have? What obstacles could prevent them from purchasing? Addressing these issues directly in your marketing can help guide buyers towards making a decision.
- Gather Feedback: Use customer feedback to refine your understanding of the buyer’s process. This can come from post-purchase surveys, reviews, or even direct customer service interactions. Feedback is invaluable for identifying areas for improvement and understanding the post-purchase phase.
- Create Buyer Personas: Compile your research into buyer personas—semi-fictional characters that represent your ideal customers. These personas should include detailed information about the buyers’ backgrounds, needs, decision-making processes, and how they prefer to interact with your brand.
- Test and Refine: Finally, use A/B testing and monitor analytics to see how changes in your approach affect buyer behavior. This ongoing process will help you refine your understanding of the buyer’s journey and improve your marketing strategies over time.
This example focuses on gathering initial information about your potential buyers.
| Buyer Persona | Demographics | Interests | Pain Points | Buying Habits | Preferred Communication Channels | Feedback Channels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persona 1 | Age, Location, Job Title | Hobbies, Media Consumption | Challenges related to your product/service | Online, In-store, Frequency of purchases | Social Media, Email, Phone | Surveys, Reviews, Customer Service Interactions |
| Persona 2 | Age, Location, Job Title | Hobbies, Media Consumption | Challenges related to your product/service | Online, In-store, Frequency of purchases | Social Media, Email, Phone | Surveys, Reviews, Customer Service Interactions |
| Persona 3 | Age, Location, Job Title | Hobbies, Media Consumption | Challenges related to your product/service | Online, In-store, Frequency of purchases | Social Media, Email, Phone | Surveys, Reviews, Customer Service Interactions |
Understanding the buying process from start to finish can help businesses and marketers craft strategies that resonate with both buyers and users, ultimately leading to more effective sales and happier customers.
Feel free to share your feedback or contact if you need help with your product marketing needs!
Vladimir