Today we’ll explore the idea of shortening your customers’ decision making process with positive word-of-mouth. There are five stages in the decision making process.
The five stages are:
- From “No” to “Maybe”
- Investigating Your Products
- Trial Period
- Make a Purchase
- Advocates for Your Products
Let’s take a closer look at each one of these.
From “No” to “Maybe”
This stage is incredibly important. If your potential customers don’t even take a second look at your products/services, then you have no chance of sealing the deal. This is why you need to offer credible information and well thought out pricing, guarantees, and incentives.
Investigating Your Products
At this stage, potential customers are taking a closer look at your product line to see if there is anything that could benefit their life. This is where you need to make sure your hard information is available for the customers to see and compare.
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Trial Period
Customers often feel more at ease and ready to purchase when there is some sort of a trial in place. They usually want to try vicariously through someone else, so they don’t feel any risk involved. A good way to offer this is through demo videos, product demonstrations, or a tour of your facilities. This stage may invoke a reaction of “I tried it and liked it. You should check it out.”
Make a Purchase
At this stage, they have taken the risk of purchasing one of your products or services, and are now evaluating how easy, convenient, cost effective, and satisfying your product or service is. At this stage, a common reaction would be, “It was really easy to use and learn from. It’s really great, you should get it!”
Advocates for Your Products
At this last stage of decision making, the customer is immensely pleased with your product, and often keeps using it and/or comes back for more products and services. They are likely telling everyone they know how much they like it, that they use it every day, and have already (or will be) back to your establishment for more.
We talked a minute ago about the different types of buyers. Now we are going to take a closer look at their characteristics, so that you can figure out which tactics are best to use at the right stage of the decision making process.
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The Innovator
- Wants to stand out from the crowd
- Knows what’s hot and trendy
- Likes “strange” or “weird” new products
- Wants to be the first to try and will talk about it animatedly
Early Adopter
- Driven by excellence
- More concerned with possibilities than realities
- Always looking to be a leader
- Always looking for a new vision
Middle Majority
- Wants to be perceived as competent
- Concerned about practicality and easy comparisons
- Needs an easy way out if not satisfied
- Wants products that meet the industry standard
Late Majority
- Generally skeptical and wants to know the risks upfront
- Needs to shop around for the best deal
- Needs a support system
- Wants what everyone else has
Laggard
- Needs to be completely safe and traditional
- Needs reassurance that nothing will go wrong
- Won’t try new things unless it’s the last resort
- Will search for loopholes and problems
- Wants to use the standard industry way
As you can see, each type of consumer wants something just a little different depending on their personality type. The key to successful word-of-mouth is to target and cater to each type of consumer.
If you need help identifying the types of consumers you are currently helping and how to attract the types you are lacking, try our GUIDED TOUR at www.wealthywomeninnercircle.com for the resources and tools you need to get the job done.
Charlotte Howard is the Founder of the Hair Artist Association with over 4000 members, CEO of Heart Centered Women Publishing, Founder of Wealthy Women Inner Circle and Co-Founder of Wealthy Women Entrepreneurs.
She’s written and published thousands of best selling books. She’s one of the most-highly paid board certified book writing prosperity life coaches, women’s book publishing consultants and influential women’s book publishing expert trainers in the world.
Charlotte has been called by the Information Marketing Journal an “Information Marketing Genius”. Amazon and the Yearbook of Experts named her one of the most influential women in the world of beauty, business and women’s transformational book publishing industries.
She is also in the Top 1% Most Followed Transformational Public Figures In Beauty, Women’s Business and Women Book Publishing on LinkedIn, with over 100,000+ fans across her pages.
Charlotte is a proud homeschooling mom of 4 beautiful kids. She loves the beach, reading, writing and traveling with family and friends. She is an avid Netflix and Amazon Prime lover. Since leaving corporate america she’s finally been able to enjoy a freedom based lifestyle and believes everyone should be able to do the same.
