As a business owner one area you may wish to study is decision making. There are many books and even a few web sites devoted to this topic. By understanding decision making you can be more effecting in formulating your marketing message and completing sales.
Customers make decisions based on who they are and what they have done. In other words their current decision making process is determined by their personality and by their past experiences.
In the past they may have had a poor experience with someone in your field or with a product similar to yours. Through the sales process you can uncover any objections related to this through your needs analysis interview. In your marketing materials you can state how your company or product is different from your competitors. Of course you would refrain from any statements that might be considered libelous or defamatory.
All customers have a unique set of proclivities, values, goals, and references. During the sales process you can try to determine some of your customer’s tendencies. Probing for their likes and dislikes can help you position your product in the best possible light.
If you are selling in mass, then you do not have the opportunity to identify individual needs and wants. If you are lucky enough to have a niche product then you might be able to make some generalizations.
Do not limit the benefits of your product simply based on its technical features. Your customers might value saving time. While your product’s features might not directly lead to a benefit statement about saving time, a little thought might lead to how using your product is less time consuming than a different product.
Several tendencies with respect to decision making are worth noting. Your customers, like yourself, are constrained by information, time, and money. While they would like to gather every bit of information before purchasing a product, this is not possible. Customers will gather information until they feel that any additional information will not help in the decision making process. This process of gather a good but not perfect amount of information is called ‘satisficing’ behavior. For you this means providing enough information to make the decision. Do not overwhelm the customer with every datum available. Of course, make the extra information available if they request it.
After the customer has made the purchase they will naturally second guess their decision. This is especially true for difficult decisions or expensive purchases. They will seek out evidence that they did in fact make the right decision. This mental process is called cognitive dissonance. Your responsibility is to resolve this discordance in the customers mind. Bring some resolution by sending a letter of appreciation, resolving any issues immediately, and finding way to continue to sell yourself and your product.
Another cognitive process to be aware of is the need for people to justify their actions. Customers believe they make decisions based on a logical analysis of the facts at hand. In reality we all make decisions based on emotive and sometimes illogical factors. After the decision is made we then go back and line up the evidence for the decision being the best choice. We also ignore the factors that do not help our case. This process of back filling the logic of a decision after it has been made is called rationalizing. You should understand that customers may make a decision based on factors you can not identify or understand. Try to frame your case in positive emotional terms as much as possible.
So customers will make their current decision based on their past decisions. The will exhibit rationalization, cognitive dissonance and satisficing behavior during this process. As stated customers are unique and will make decisions based on their personality traits.
There are many different ways to understand personality and cognitive behavior. Numerous competing and often over lapping models are sprinkled through out books on Psychology, Marketing, Communications, Management, Leadership, and Sales.
Maslow determined that people work through a hierarchy of needs from safety to self-actualization. He would advise you to motivate your customers sequentially through each set of needs.
One theory states that people are motivated by the need for affiliation, the need for power, and the need for achievement. Your task is to determine which need is predominant in your customer and convince them that your product addresses that need.
One theory states that how people make decisions is based on their desire for control and their fear of risk. You would sell to those with a high desire for control by giving options and letting them decide. You would sell to those with a low risk tolerance by stating how your product reduces uncertainty or creates peace of mind.
Another theory aligns different personalities along to coordinates. One coordinate calculates the person’s focus on process. The other coordinate calculates the person’s focus on people. There are actually several of these models with slightly different terminology but very similar conclusions.
People with low people needs and high process needs are called analytics or conscientious. Selling to analytics requires details, facts, and figures. They want a lot of information before deciding. If you present your case well they will buy your product. If you sell to accountants or software designers, this might be the strategy to adopt.
People with high people needs and low process needs are called influencers or expressive types. Selling to influencers you must speak to their need for power, their need to be popular, and the need for an emotive reason for buying. If you are selling to sales and marketing people this might be the strategy to adopt.
People with low people needs and low process needs are sometimes called steady type or nurturers. They want to be liked and have a high need for affiliation. Selling to them requires a balance of logic and emotion. They are sometimes reluctant to make a decision until they check with some one else.
Finally some people have high people needs and process needs. They are called assertive or decisive. These are the bossy types we have encountered though out our life. Selling to them is best achieved by providing options and letting them make the decision. They have a high need for control and are very proactive.
There are many other models for understanding personality and buying behavior. This short summary was necessarily incomplete. You might want to study a few of these models. With some observation you might find that one or two of them ring true. Once you have reached that point just focus on the knowledge that is useful. If you try to address every model with your sales and marketing effort you will not be able to deliver a congruent message at all.
The challenge with addressing personality in your sales message becomes harder when you are selling to a group instead of just an individual. You might need to provide detailed analysis for the accounting person, emotional appeals for the marketing person, a list of alternatives for the leader of the group, and a balanced appeal for the operational people that will actually utilize the product.
A further challenge is in preparing mass marketing material. It becomes impossible focus on any one personality type. Try to incorporate a balance. Appeal to the need for logical details in you discussion of features. Appeal to emotions in your discussion of benefits.
We hope this generated some questions and ideas for your business.