Highlight How High A Shopper’s Ready to Go

A shopper’s acknowledgment that they are inferior to what they want to be allows you to sell solutions. Researchers at Arizona State University, Northwestern University, Stanford University, and Columbia University analyzed studies showing a selection of ways self-discrepancies drive consumer behavior: 

• Direct resolution. If your prospect is fatter than they want to be, they might like to join a gym or purchase diet foods. Consumers who are dismayed that their intelligence is fading as they age could be interested in brain training activities. 
• Symbolic self-completion. MBA students lacking objective indicators of business success such as multiple job offers were more likely to show off symbols of business success like expensive suits. Or suits chosen by those considering themselves overweight could be designed to look slimming. 
• Dissociation. This path diverts the shopper from audiences or contexts where the discrepancy will be apparent. A person who feels less financially savvy than desired is receptive to stopping a subscription to The Wall Street Journal and subscribing instead to USA Today. 
• Escapism. A short-term version of Dissociation is to distract oneself from thinking about the perceived inadequacy, usually by engaging in an entertainment activity. For effectiveness, the entertainment must avoid reminders of the discrepancy. If consumers feel themselves to be less socially adept than desired, escapism could consist of attending a show where single-ticket purchases are common. 
• Fluid compensation. The consumer who is feeling inadequate in one realm strives to cultivate other skills they feel confident they possess. You can sell to these shoppers by identifying those areas in which they have both skills and interest.

     The first two of these five lend themselves to easier interpretation of shopper needs. You can make those paths more likely by building the shopper’s self-esteem, which, in turn, encourages higher aspirations. Flatter the shopper’s expertise.
     Don’t go too far, though. Abundant flattery, even if justified, can come across as phony or result in a backlash of shopper hubris. In studies at University of Texas-Austin and Switzerland’s University of Bern, when consumers’ self-esteem became extraordinarily high, they turned toward aiming for the status quo.
     Self-efficacy operates differently, though. Self-esteem relates to a general impression, while self-efficacy concerns confidence about a specific skill. Persuade shoppers they are capable of achieving what you’re proposing. Accomplish this by selecting the right items for each transaction.

Successfully influence the most prosperous & most loyal consumer age group. For the specific strategies & tactics you need, click here.

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