Do You Know Why People Buy From You?

When you set up a small business business, you probably have an ideal customer in mind. You probably know the person’s gender, age, economic status, martial status, lifestyle and personality. (If you don’t, then you should do some market research – quickly.)

This ideal customer is your target. You foresee that this person would buy from you the most often because you sell what this person wants or needs or should have.

You know whom you’re targeting. You know why you want to target that person. But do you know why this ideal customer buys from you?

People Always Have a Reason to Buy

No one arbitrarily decides to spend money for no reason at all. Something always makes people buy. Even impulse shoppers who make spontaneous purchases buy for a reason.

The item or service that you sell isn’t the reason people buy from you, either. They don’t want what you sell. They want something more.

Most of the time people make emotional purchase decisions – they look beyond the item they hold in their hand or the service they’re contemplating. Here are some examples of what people truly want:

• An easy life with no stress
• More Money
• Increased efficiency or speed
• Eased suffering or reduced pain
• Increased self-confidence
• Increased knowledge

There are many more reasons, but these examples clearly demonstrate the emotion involved in the decision-making process of a purchase.

Knowing why your ideal customer buys from you enables you to formulate a better marketing strategy. So what are your customers feeling? Where do you fit in? Why are people buying from you?

The Challenge of Competition

If you have a unique product that resolves a problem and has very little alternatives, then the answer of why people buy from you is clear. They need what you sell to achieve their goal and there is no one else that offers what you do.

Perfect.

Most of the time, though, it’s not easy to figure out why people choose you over the competition with. You may be offering a similar product or service with quality that is just as good and with pricing that is just as competitive as anyone else does.

So why are they choosing you? Why should they choose you? These are both very important questions to answer.

Why Should People Buy From You?

First, take yourself and your business out of the equation. Examine only the reasons why people buy the service or product. Why do they need this item? What solution does this service provide? What goal does the product or service achieve?

Now comes the more difficult introspection. Tons of competitors sell what you sell. Why choose you? What makes you special? Here are some ideas to consider:

• You are a good business to deal with. You’re friendly, approachable and offer better service than other providers.
  
• You have higher knowledge levels and expertise that other competitors don’t seem to have. This makes you an authority – the best.
  
• You provide prestige and good impressions. Your customers get envious glances from their friends or peers when they show off what they bought from you.
  
• You have a better reputation than the competition, either from being in business longer or from glowing testimonials.
  
• You go the extra mile for add-on value. You might offer free support, free shipping or a discount for returning clients.
  
• You offer faster turnaround than other providers do. Your customers get what they want and achieve their goals faster.
  

If you look at that list, you’ll see that none of those buying factors directly relate to the item or service the person purchases. They’re related factors, yes – but only by being emotional elements that give you a competitive advantage.

Create a Better Message

By understanding why people buy from you, you can tailor your marketing message to reinforce that.

Fastest? Push the concept that you deliver with speed. Prestige? Play up your elite products and services. Expertise? Tell people you’re the number one authority resource.

The result is simple: Know who you’re selling to. Know what you offer beyond your product or service. Know why people buy from you and not the competition.

Now create a message that explains all of that to your customer and get out there!