“Help me understand the buying process and what my options are – so I can make an educated decision.” – Consumer expectation
Customers now cannot be misled and neither will they settle for anything but the best, and expect that they be provided with complete information. Their expectations are clear – as mentioned above – they want to know everything and make a decision based on what they know. For any business to be successful, it would be imperative for a company to understand the customer buying process, such that it can provide customers with what they want, how they want, and whenever they want. It would be extremely hard for a company to gain new customers, and we think, even retain new ones without understanding the reasons behind their buying decisions. Customers are now spoiled for choices – hence, unless a company gives them reason to buy more and consistently from it, customers could go anywhere to satisfy their buying urges. Customer profiling and segmentation is now a major component of service excellence – and understanding the buying behaviour of all customer groups is a large part of the profiling process.
To understand the customer buying process means to know the reasons behind a buying decision. Customers either buy for emotional or rational reasons, and it is imperative for a company to know when customers are most likely to use, which set of reasoning. The fact is that the better a company can understand its customers the easier it would be for the company to attract, retain, and keep its customers loyal. It is known that customers like to be in business with a company that understands them and makes the effort to create an emotional bond with them. Customers who are emotionally connected with a company, become loyal, and would be happy to provide recommendations, and referrals for the company’s products, and business. Making the effort to understand the customer buying process is possibly one of the best growth and success strategies that a company can press into action. The process of buying for a customer starts with the aim to satisfy a particular need or problem or simply to satisfy their ego. Whatever the reasons, they all stem from the customer’s desire to make their life easier – a company that can recognize this desire and do whatever it takes to help a customer remain happy and in control, will scoop up a large chunk of the market share.
Coupled with the need to buy, a company must also understand as part of the customer buying process, the frequency with which a customer may buy. Timing products and promotional activities to coincide with the time that customers would be most likely to buy, would obviously yield better results. As Seth Godin commented – “Don’t find customers for your products find products for your customers.” This is possibly one of the ways that a company that display their desire to make things simpler for their customers and to show their understanding of customer needs. The customer buying process is not limited to the person buying the product. Very often, a customer would buy for someone else. The end user’s opinion of the product would be based on how well it satisfies their need. This would determine whether the customer would buy from the company again.
Another important part of the customer buying process is for a company to know what they prefer to buy consistently. Through this understanding, a company would save costs and effort in stocking a whole range of products and services. It would be more profitable to focus on a few niche and specialized options, which find favour with customers all the time. In addition, with the surge of e-commerce and technological advancement, customers can now shop from anywhere and at any time. It is imperative for a company to understand which medium customers use to buy and which time of the day they prefer to do so. Understanding these preferences would help a company to focus on the preferred channels, thereby increasing the possibilities of customers buying its products.
As mentioned, customers now have many ways to gain information about products and services they require. Customers usually check a company’s website, social media sites, and read comments and reviews of other users. It would be wise for a company to understand as part of the customer buying process, which kind of content appeals to customers, whose opinion they are most likely to heed, and what would influence them to buy more. It is a fact however, that prospective customers would be more inclined to listen to the advice and opinions of friends and family before buying. What matters are the experiences the people they trust, may have had with certain companies and products. Businesses, on the other hand, would do thorough research and base their buying decisions on many and varied parameters – laying emphasis on costs and functionality.
Given the explosion of information and channels of communication, the expectations and demands of customers are now higher than ever before. They demand to be provided with complete and useful information, while expecting that the company would have taken some time to understand their profile and preferences. Customers expect that everyone from the customer service representatives to the sales people, right up to the leadership, would be able to give them speedy and efficient service, while offering them products or services that would be most beneficial to them. Customers want to be treated as important and special, while expecting that companies will not violate their privacy or space. This is a fine balance and one that poses a major challenge for any company.
As mentioned the rise of social media has changed the dynamics of customer-customer and customer-company relationships. As people connect socially, they ‘expose’ many aspects of their life, beyond business dealings. In order to foster closer relationships and form durable bonds, a company should take the time to learn varying aspects about their customers and target audience. Knowing what they like to do in their spare time, the kind of people they interact with, the food and clothes they prefer, the kind of content / posts they share, and many other such aspects, can provide a company with deep insights into the customer buying process and mind-set. Getting ‘social’ with the customer base – both existing and prospective – is a great way to ‘get into the minds’ and ‘under the skin’ of customers, thereby increasing the company’s chances of getting more revenue and profits.
We know that the customer of today is an on-the-go person. Research has shown that at least 50% of purchases were made online by the end of 2015, and this is obviously on the rise. The empowered customers of today expect real-time information and interactions with the company, such that they are able to make sound and quick buying decisions. The fact is one customer is usually using several different digital channels to interact with a company, throughout their buying process, and data reveals that at least 65% customers have ended up frustrated with poor experiences and inconsistencies between the channels.
Companies are now becoming more aware of the customer buying process and are doing their best to keep pace with the changes in the customer demands and expectations, while balancing their own business needs. The basic premise is to ensure that the company can attract a large number of customers, gain maximum business, and retain these customers for a long time. Knowing what customers like – including their buying process and mind-set – will help a company stay more successful and competitive than other market players.
