In a rush to close a sale, businesses sometimes focus solely on the final step of a customer’s buying process – money being deposited into your bank account, but looking at buying motivations is often overlooked.

Without taking the time to understand the beginning of a customer’s buying process, however, businesses could find themselves outflanked by competitors who conduct in-depth research into their customers’ motivations for making a purchase.

Here are some suggestions for gaining a better understanding of why your current customers buy from you, which can lead to more loyal customers and higher profits:

Identify the specific problem your customers are trying to solve

Every purchase your customer makes is done to solve a problem. Sometimes identifying the problem is very straight forward, such as saving either time and/or money. Other problems may be more difficult to recognize, like satisfying a desire to spend time outdoors by purchasing camping equipment.

Find ancillary reasons that customers buy from you

While most customers buy from you in order to solve a specific problem, sometimes there are secondary reasons why a customer chooses to do business with you. Maybe you support a specific charitable organization, are located within a reasonable distance from a customer’s residence or are affiliated with a particular group. Consider engaging in small talk with your customers to find out possible ancillary reasons why they choose to do business with you.

Uncover your customers’ price sensitivity

Some customers don’t care that much about how much they pay for something, as long as it addresses the problem they’re trying to solve. Other customers only care about low prices regardless of product or service quality. Knowing your customers’ price sensitivity can help you build more profit into your products and service.

Unlocking customer buying motivations can lead to higher profits

Discovering your customers’ buying motivations can help lock them in as repeat buyers for a long time and provide information for attracting new customers.

Learn more

As always, we hope you find our tips and news for businesses valuable, and look forward to receiving your feedback. Companies focused on growth have sought the help of Insero & Co. for more than 40 years. During that time they have consistently experienced the peace of mind that comes from knowing their CPA firm takes the concept of integrity seriously. Should you have any questions about how customer buying motivations can lead to higher profits, please contact us directly.

Share

About the Author: Michael Marafioti

Mike is a Partner in the Audit and Business Advisory Services Group who works with many middle-market companies where he provides entrepreneurs with real-time business advice ranging from operations to financing. Meet Mike >

Subscribe

Join our mailing list for insights and tools to help you achieve your goals delivered right to your inbox.