Understanding A Customer’s Buying Cycle

From the time you first contact a prospective client to the time you seal the deal, each step of the process fits into what is known as the customer’s buying cycle. This refers to the phases they go through when determining who they will select to perform a job or service for them.

There are roughly three stages that customers go through: awareness, interest and purchase. Awareness is when they have only just begun to understand who you are and what you offer.

Interest is when the customer has become informed of what you offer, and expresses a tentative desire to purchase from you. Purchase describes the final stages of a customer’s interest; it is the point where they are evaluating your prices and offerings. This is the phase where you give them a direct sales pitch.

When attracting customers to your business, you want to make sure that your advertisements and sales pitches are targeted to their mentality at the time. The following three steps will show you how to approach your customer’s buying cycle, so that you maximize the chance of securing them as a client.

1) Gather your customer’s requirements and needs

Every customer’s needs are different and unique to them. As such, never take a one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with your customers. Take the time to reach out to them and understand the specific nature of the products or service they require. When you are presenting them with a prospective offer, ask questions that pertain to their needs. This will prove invaluable in giving you the knowledge and understanding of what exactly they are looking for. Even if your customers do not buy from you initially, getting to know and understand their needs will encourage them to cultivate a relationship with you; this can eventually lead to that person becoming a repeat customer.

Presenting an attractive deal to a customer can only be done if you took the time to understand what it is they were looking for in the first place. When you present the offer to your client, you will have the opportunity to show them why you are best suited for the job and how you can solve their unique challenges and problems. Gathering this information beforehand is crucial to presenting them with the best offer, and potentially moving a customer past the “awareness” stage.

2) Agree on what products and services will be provided

This is a crucial part of the buying cycle. Not only will it determine what the final price quote will be, but this will help the customer decide if what you are offering is right for them. Once you have a customer interested in your product or service, they will want to know what you are offering them. This is where you can truly stand out from your competitors. You have the opportunity to present them with a list of services and products that reflects the specific nature of the job they need done, rather than just giving them a generic list of services that would be sent to every prospective client. Companies often make use of “triggers” in this phase of the buying cycle. A trigger is an event that pushes a customer’s want to a need. Since they have already expressed an interest in what you have to offer or say, you have the opportunity to tailor your offerings to these wants and make them feel as though they need to buy from you. If you follow step one in the buying cycle, you will have a good understanding of what triggers your prospective clients and customers will be receptive to.

3) Create a value-based quote

A value-based quote is the best way of generating a price quote for your customer. It focuses more on the value that you are bringing to a client, rather than just focusing on the dollar and material cost of the products or services you intend to provide. Put another way, it reframes the issue: rather than reminding the customer of how much money you are costing them, instead you show them the value proposition and savings you bring to their business. The point isn’t to avoid showing them the costs of your services and products, but rather it doesn’t make it the central focus. Brevity is important. It’s not good to go into a pages-long list of reasons as to why you are the best candidate for the job, or you will lose their interest. You want to hold their interest while still providing a convincing reason as to why you should be selected over everybody else. This concept is not unlike that of creating a resume. Only towards the end should you place the estimates of the costs and time needed.

Creating a value-based quote for your potential customer is the final touch in courting them – it gives them one last reason to choose you and serves as a final reinforcement of the idea that you are the best person for the job. You want your customer to leave your sales pitch with a good aftertaste, and creating a value-based quote is an excellent way to leave them with a positive message and a touch of professionalism.

Understanding the buying cycle of your customers will give you the power and knowledge you need to court them at every step of the way. The approach you will use for a customer who is only just becoming aware of your product or service will be different than the one used to court a customer who has expressed an interest in buying from you. Knowing how to leverage the mindsets they have at each point in the cycle will help you turn potential clients into repeat customers.

Source: Understanding A Customer's Buying Cycle

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About Mosspaper

With Mosspaper anyone can create, sign, track and accept quotes and contracts anywhere. Mosspaper provides a streamlined paperless quote and contract renewal SaaS solution from creation to sales renewals, allowing users to monitor and track work.  The company offers a quote creator tool, paperless approval process, centralized customer communications, e-signature, payment integration, real-time notifications, and data analytics for small businesses.

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