Every customer walking into your store is either protection-focused or promotion-focused. Prevention-focused shoppers put top priority on products and services which help them avoid losing what they have now. Promotion-focused shoppers put top priority on products and services which help them gain more than they have now. A person is usually either protection-focused or promotion-focused over the course of their lifetime as a shopper.
To help our customers make decisions they'll be happy with, and so come back to us again, we should use sales strategies that fit the individual's prevention/promotion category. In one study conducted at Northwestern University, people who would end up happiest when they ate healthy foods were offered the choice between an apple and a chocolate bar. But wait! Before being offered the choice, each person took a psychological test to find if they were prevention-focused or promotion-focused. Later, some of each type were asked to answer a protection-focused question, "What are some of the things you can do to avoid anything that could go wrong?" The rest—again some from each type—were asked a promotion-focused question, "What are some things you can do to make sure everything goes right?" And immediately after that, the apple and the candy bar were presented.
Here's what happened: When the question the person was asked fit the type of shopper they were, they selected the apple about 80% of the time. But when the question the person was asked was opposite of the type of shopper the person was, they selected the apple only about 20% of the time.
The lesson for retailers? Assess if the shopper you're dealing with is mostly prevention-focused or mostly promotion-focused. Then ask your questions of the shopper and present your selling points to fit that individual's focus.
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