When customers shop for a product or service for future use, they'll pay special attention to the distinctive features. But when they plan to put the item to work soon, they're especially interested in ease of use. That's true across cultures. When, for instance, people are looking at word processing software they'll start using in a few months, they give great weight to the range of capabilities of the software. However, if they plan to start using the software within a few days, their primary criterion is ease of learning the software.
The lesson for your salespeople is to remember to ask shoppers how soon they plan to start using the product or service. Knowing this allows the salesperson to focus the information to the shopper on the most effective balance between desirability and feasibility benefits. Whether in advertising, signage, or talk, you don't have time to tell the shopper everything. Home in on what makes a sale which will benefit both the purchaser and your bottom line.
In some cases, you can guess how soon the shopper plans to start using the purchase. Certain items are likely to be last-minute searches. Floral bouquets and hot water heaters come to mind. With these, you don't need to depend on sales staff contact to get the message across. In your advertising and signage, feature ease of delivery, ease of installation, ease of learning, and other angles on ease of use.
Yes, there are shoppers who aim to earn prestige by mastering hard-to-use products and services. And many shoppers do want to put their energies into customizing their purchases. But even with those folks, when time is tight for them, be sure they know it can be turnkey.
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