Tell & Ask Shoppers What Sets You Apart

During a “Profitability Tactics for Small Retailers” seminar I conducted last week, innkeeper Naresh Patel added to my repertoire of script snippets: “This is what sets us apart.”
     Mr. Patel owns Americas Best Value Inn located in Turlock, California. His script snippet is used when a shopper asks why they should stay at his lodging rather than at an alternative. Mr. Patel replies, “This is what sets us apart” and then presents a few of the many advantages he knows his lodging facility offers.
     I like the script because it’s positive. When asked to compare our retail business to others, we might feel a tug to criticize the others. This negative approach might alienate the shopper. Consumers from Latin American and Asian culture backgrounds are especially likely to feel uncomfortable with the negative approach.
     At the other end of the transaction, ask the guests of your inn, store, or other retail business for items you can add to your list: “What did you find sets us apart as a place to serve your needs?”

• According to research at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, asking questions like these is useful for changing brand, item, and store preferences the consumer has been following without any real thought. Reason-to-buy questions make the shopper stop to consider, therefore increasing your opportunities to influence them. Most people rise to the challenge when asked a question. They might not answer aloud, but they’ll probably start thinking.
• Asking these questions personalizes the selling arguments. People make each purchase decision for all sorts of reasons, and each of us has a distinctive consumer personality. For instance, some shoppers primarily want to play it safe while others primarily want to acquire new advantages. The shopper can take your reason-to-buy questions in whatever direction fits them best.
• When a group of family or friends comes together to your business, being asked this question can kick off a brainstorming session in which answers given by each person become a selling point for the others who are listening in.

     It is not a matter of the more reasons, the better, though. Research findings from Universität Heidelberg and Universität Mannheim indicate that if you ask the consumer to generate loads of reasons to buy the particular product or to shop at your place, the task becomes more difficult for the customer, and this actually makes your preferred alternative less attractive.

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Ask Shoppers for Reasons to Buy
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