decision makers
Rarely, and I mean rarely, do we ever actually make a decision to buy out of thin air.
The act of buying is a process, like making friends or anything else really. As purveyors of ideas (marketers, salespeople, entrepreneurs), we should learn to appreciate the rules that govern the people we seek to impress. In no way is this an exhaustive list, but for what’s it’s worth, here are some of those rules at play.
1. Saving Face - we are always buying something to substitute for something we already have. Sometimes we are even buying the same thing again. For example, I’m considering buying a new iPod. I waited forever to buy my first one because I wanted to ensure I got a model (the nano) that would not get replaced in 3 months. It was replaced in 2. Now 2 years later, I’m ready to re-invest, but first I need my guilt removed. I need that salesperson to put his hand on my shoulder and say “Not to worry, 70% of our customers own AT LEAST two iPods.”
2. Opt In/Out - parting with your money is difficult enough as it is. Rarely do people decide “Oh hell - I’ll get it anyway” if the opt out part of the deal isn’t as easy as opting in. The opt out, whether a return policy, a satisfaction guarantee or an after-market, is the customer’s safety net. I have a friend who travels the world looking for exquisite accessories to compliment the fireplace (chenets, statues etc.). He comes home and puts them in his 40 year old landmark of a retail shop. When a customer walks in and buys a lot of product, he outfits their home with everything they’ve bought plus a couple of accent pieces which he leaves set-up in their home for a month. There is no pressure and the opt out is easy. Half the time, they never use it.
3. Matching - this is the gap between ‘exactly what they want’ and ‘exactly what they want’. We all want things custom built to solve our needs. We all want the top of line product instead of having to settle for the middle-of-the-road model. We all want 18 things but we want to pretend that those 18 things are actually just 1 thing that someone will eventually discover for us (just ask anyone who is in the business of selling creative at an agency level). The key is to build a staircase. Give them the Toyota now and the idea that they are one step closer to the Lexus (unless of course they really want the Lexus).
4. Distance from “The Quo” - Many great strategists have touched on the significance of relating a product’s adoption to the degree of difference it finds itself from the product that preceeded it. This resistance to change is nothing new. It is easier to grow your hair 2 inches and not notice, than it is to ignore the half inch you cut off over a week ago (ask any woman). Outkast is reknown for their ability to push the envelope. When they released the album Speakerboxx/The Love Below it wasn’t something that sounded great upon first listen (at least not for this writer). You might have had faith in the artist and you might have enjoyed a couple songs that were kilometers instead of miles away from ordinary, but generally, you had to listen twice - and then twice more before you realized that this was in fact the Album of the Year.
5. Validation - Seth Godin is a tipping point in and of himself. When Seth tells you about something, you think you have an edge. You think that because Seth has a blog and blogs aren’t mainstream as yet (sorry, it’s true), that when someone asks you why you paid good money to register at the New Order Business School (NOBS), you can send them a link to the post and your purchase will be validated. When Matte Babel (this is a Canadian blog eh) tells you about something, you don’t expect to have an edge. This is in part due to the medium - Seth is on the net, Matte is on TV. The other reason for this is the reach associated with that same medium. When Seth breaks news, you feel you’ve caught that news on the upswing. When Matte breaks news, you feel you’re only as informed as everyone else. Once the voice of validation is available to everyone, it’s no longer an acceptable reason to buy all on its own.
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Someone who talks a lot, listens a lot, sings on the streets and loves big ideas. If you need a discipline or two for piece of mind, try Marketer and Entrepreneur. If you need a title to legitimize why you'd waste your time here, I can't help you. I work with people on fire for the things they love.
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