Present High-Level Benefits to the Confident

Researchers at Northwestern University and University of Hong Kong find that the benefits statements to make to consumers who are confident differ from those best made to consumers low in confidence.
     With high-confidence shoppers, describe the overall and longer-term benefits of the product or service you’d like the shopper to buy. If it’s a health club membership, these high-level benefits could include the possibilities of a longer life and relief from physical pain. By contrast, with low-confidence shoppers, the benefits of interest could center on items like the ease of getting to the health club.
     With a product like an big screen TV, the high-level benefits could be the ability of the family to enjoy programs together, while the low-level benefits could be the ease of operation.
     From the opposite perspective, asking shoppers to think about the longer-term gives them more confidence in making purchases. Researchers from Princeton, University of Chicago, and Digitas-Boston surveyed people entering a grocery store. One set were asked, among other things, questions about the contents of their wallets. This nudged their thoughts towards the money they had to spend in the short term. Another set of shoppers were asked instead about the different types of financial accounts they had in their investment portfolio, such as checking and savings accounts. This got those shoppers thinking long-range.
     What difference did it make? The second group spent 36% more than the first group when checking out with what they ended up purchasing.
     Notice how undemanding it was to set those customers thinking in ways that resulted in them spending, let's say, $136 instead of $100. A question about financial accounts instead of about wallet contents was enough to do it.
     How can you use this? Customers coming into your store won't welcome being stopped to answer a survey before you let them make their purchases. And if your sales staff start out by asking, "How much do you have in your bank accounts?," the shopper might very quickly gallop out your store's front door tightly holding any checkbook, wallet, and credit cards.
     So what are ways you can bring the customer's mind towards a longer-term perspective on spending their money? How about stating prices not just as the total, but also as the cost per month over the expected useful life of the product? How about offering extended payment terms?
     What else will work for you?

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

Click below for more: 
Heal Shattered Confidence with Playthings 
Assess Shoppers’ Cloaks of Confidence 
Give Customers Long-Range Perspectives 
Profit from Shoppers’ Positive Moods