Five Things More Important to Buyers than WHAT You're Selling - I Article I of a two-part series For Article II http://www.giantpotatoes.com/article202.htm Dr. Lynella GrantNo matter what customers say they want, what they're really looking for is "something special." They can't quite describe it, but when they find it, they know.
Indeed, those little details of
buying experience may appear intangible. But what you sell is usually less important to customers, almost incidental--unless they don't get what they expected.
As Walt Disney said, "Do what you do so well that people want to bring their friends to see you do it again." Any business able to satisfy customers in these five ways will consistently beat competition.
NOTICE: More important than WHAT you provide, is HOW you provide it.
So much attention is paid to WHAT, HOW often takes a backseat. Yet it's quality of your HOW that determines whether sale is made or lost. Buyers focused only on price are likely to be one-time visitors, but even they sometimes decide cheapest price "just isn't worth it."
1. How well they're treated People (even business buyers) care about human touch. They want to be treated with respect and fairness. They want to feel like valued customers--whose time and opinions matter. If people can't trust you to treat them right, they certainly won't trust you with their money. Whether or not sale occurs depends on whether customer feels taken for granted--or taken.
Equally important is how business deals with problems or complaints as they arise. Making mistakes needn't be fatal, customers understand that. However, willingness to fix them and minimize their impact on buyer is crucial. Solving it immediately, with right attitude, can even strengthen bond. But fumbling ball a second time simply isn't forgiven.
2. How efficiently buying process went From start to end, did each step of sale go smoothly? Could buyers get answers or help they needed? Could they find what they came for (or why not)? Was operation arranged to accommodate them? their time frame? Were prices and payment options clear and easy to deal with? Can most buyers complete transaction without triggering number 3?
