Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Encourage Customers to Be Innovative

Pioneering products and trendy clothing fashions usually carry higher profit margins than older versions. To sell innovative items, appeal to distinctive purchase triggers.
     Venturesome innovators say, "I want the latest features, even if all the problems with the item haven't been worked out yet." Show them the most surprising things about the item.
     Respectable early adopters say, "I want a taste of where the world is heading." Explain to these shoppers the ways in which the item is an example of what the future holds.
     The deliberative early majority say, "I'll buy the item after it's proven to reliably meet my needs." Tell them about the good reputation of the item's designers and brand name.
     The skeptical late majority say, "Let lots of other people use it for a while before I buy." If you choose to make a sales effort with these shoppers, your best bet is to encourage them to try using the item with an offer to accept it back for a refund or store credit if they don’t like it.
     Tradition-bound laggards avoid innovations. You probably won't be able to convince them to purchase the new, trendy version, but by listening to their reasoning, you might pick up some ideas for selling to the other groups.
     With all shoppers, appeal to the prestige trigger. Iowa State University researchers decades ago explored why certain farmers were purchasing innovative technologies while others did not in circumstances where the innovations were expensive when first made available. The answer to the why was that if the farmer could spare the funds, the fact that the innovation cost lots of money was actually attractive. It gave the farmer a head start and bragging rights that he had the latest and greatest before others could get it.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

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