Before a customer makes a purchase, he or she first goes through a series of stages called “buyer readiness.” According to Marc Mancini, the stages of buyer readiness are:
1. Awareness
Before you can sell, you must find and reach out to your potential buyers and those who may want to purchase your products. You must make contact with those who want to purchase. Some of your potential customers may have a vague idea of what your business does, but many may not eve have heard about your business (especially for a small business with limited advertising dollars).
As such, the first step is to create marketing programs that will spread the word about your business and increase awareness. You need to create advertising and promotional programs that’ll make your name conspicuous, increase awareness among your target market in order to attract serious buyers.
2. Knowledge
Once prospective clients become aware of your business, they begin the next process of learning more of your products and services acquiring knowledge about what you offer. It is important at this stage to provide these potential buyers with reasons to do business with you by giving them information about why they should buy your products. Therefore, your advertising efforts should establish you as an expert or the go-to place for the products or services you sell.
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3. Liking
This is the stage where the consumer starts relating to the product and develops connections to it.
We all tend to buy from people or companies we feel positive about. Entertaining ads, for example, will convey warmth and the “humanity” of your business. Direct your creative efforts toward making your business seem joyful, inviting, and approachable.
4. Preference
Your business does not exist in a vacuum and you need to expect your potential buyers to have their own preferences. This is the stage where you need to check whether the consumer prefers your product over the competitor’s offerings.
Benefits statements are the key to making prospective clients prefer your business over your competitor. Focus on a feature of your product — one that’s different or unique, and one that delivers an important benefit to the user.
5. Conviction
Make your customers realize they need your products by convincing them to make purchases.
The best way to convince customers to buy is by educating them through personal selling and advertising. Your advertising should build the customers’ certainty that you’re the go-to business to get the type of products and services that you offer. Client testimonials, product demonstrations, influencer marketing, product trials are some of the creative strategies you can use.
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6. Purchase
After building confidence in your product and services, the last stage is to lead the consumer to purchase it. Once prospective clients have decided to seek you out, expert sales skills are critical to helping them make the right purchase.
Build a solid relationship by helping customers make the right purchase.
Remember that the relationship between a seller and a buyer seldom ends when a sale is made.
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