Advertisers seem to present products as ideal for everybody. Customer intimate retailers build trust with realistic promises about products for specific conditions.
Prevent disappointment by defining quality according to effects in local conditions because similar products vary in skill requirements & results.
Example: ‘You need (result) because winter is near. (Product A) can __ if you use it before frost hits. (Product B) can temporarily__ if used in cold weather. Come in now & we’ll make the best recommendations by comparing your needs with product benefits & limitations.’
Expectations are based on paradigms. Paradigms define people’s criteria. General criteria can be maintaining or upgrading comfort & preventing disruptions.
Define specific criteria based on people’s experiences. Examples: ‘Does comfort mean firm support or floating on a cloud?’ ‘What kind of disruptions do you expect?’
Manage expectations & experiences by balancing between the minimum people accept & best they can afford.
Example: What can people do to maintain or upgrade favorite experiences? How much disruption will people accept? Ask about budgets, evaluation criteria & current conditions, so you can recommend options to prevent or mitigate disruptions & maximize positive changes. You might suggest adjusting expectations. ‘If you can’t avoid (problem), you can use (product A) to reduce it. If you can’t afford (product A), you can use (product B) to __.’
When you know how people evaluate experiences & what they expect, form checklists of what’s important. After that, use scales to prioritize what will maintain, adjust or create desired experiences. You can ask, ‘When you have a choice between (experience A) & (experience B), how important is __? (1 least important to 10 most important)’
After asking about people’s knowledge & skills, recommend products, services & information for creating what they want. Increase options by improving people’s knowledge & skills with recommended tutorials.
People don’t always know how product quality affects experiences, so offer information based on people’s goals.
Example: ‘Achieving goals depends on product quality & activities, so we’ll help you plan tasks & choose products to maintain or increase your progress.’
Use Testimonials To Plan Experiences.
When people report good results, ask for details about products & methods, so you can advise others who want similar results. When you have permission to use testimonials, you can use those descriptions during consultations & ask, ‘Is this what you expect?’
Descriptive testimonials can help others avoid disappointments by finding experiences compatible with their lives.
When people are frustrated, ask for details of their progress, goals & criteria, so you can recommend products & methods.
Example: ‘Based on your goal & what you’ve achieved so far, it seems you need __.’
Create options by learning about several customers’ similar experiences. After customers choose options, help them replicate what satisfied others. If they go off track, use their criteria to guide them back. Use their criteria to form a system, so they can review changing conditions to determine whether to adjust goals &/or methods.
They also might want to adjust when new products are available.
Find New Options
If something isn’t ideal anymore, what are people’s second choice options? Help them adjust by resetting financial & time budgets, including what they need for learning skills to achieve & maintain results.
When new technology is available, help people determine whether to adopt new options or stay with what fulfills current needs.
Help customers determine if new options fit current goals & conditions or if new goals might be better. If preferences change, advise them if new options might interfere with progress.
Act While Risks Are Small.
When problems start small, people might believe there aren’t serious risks.
When you have credibility from product & local knowledge, your warnings seem credible. People may disregard harsh facts, so persuade them (without excessive alarm) to take action while a risk is small.
Help people determine what to realistically expect. Identify symptoms & offer products with instructions.
People like quick fixes, so let people know if multiple step plans are necessary, plus how long symptoms & remedies might last.
Offer details about tasks before purchases, so people can determine if they’re ready. If they aren’t ready, ask which resources they need.
You can build credibility with knowledge & realistic promises even if you don't have every resource customers need. If you need to refer customers to other stores for some resources, work with those retailers to develop plans & solutions.
Credibility can attract shoppers who need assurances about product quality & whether products are compatible with projects.
Since you sell products, your recommendations could be interpreted as opinions, so refer people to objective information sources. After people accept objective information, show how that information applies to your offers. With applicable information, your offers could be their best options in local conditions.
While discussing consumers' concerns & desired results, search for products & information they can optimally use. That effort can increase trust more than general advice.
Coordinate Resources & Reduce Risks
As a resource coordinator, you can attract buyers who need methods for choosing & using products.
Products aren’t enough until people can fill gaps between current & desired conditions, so promote your ability to offer total solutions.
If people don’t fill gaps, they might risk missing something. They’ll feel exposed to risks & expect things to go wrong.
When people are unsure about results, they’re unsure about buying. Gather information about current & desired conditions plus ways to close their gaps. Provide the steps so nothing is left to chance.
People might hesitate until they know how to evaluate options & decide what to buy. Give them freedom to act by providing information. People might stay in an endless loop of old experiences until somebody removes the risk of new experiences.
Risk reversal (refunds & exchanges) can be used after decisions, but people want to avoid bad decisions. By offering guidance, you & your customers can avoid refund & exchange hassles.
Explore Consumers’ Desired Experiences
Customer intimate retailers can specialize in helping people trade up for superior experiences.
People probably trade down with commodities for minor experience elements & trade up to high quality for the best elements. Their best elements define the overall experience quality.
Compare your current & potential inventory with competitors’ offers based on consumers’ desired experiences, not just prices.
Guide people's choices with questions to fulfill the quality they expect.
While talking to consumers, explore these issues:
What did buyers expect & actually experience? Were their expectations based on advice, observations or product instructions?
On a 10-point scale, how frustrated or satisfied were they? If major improvements are possible, can they afford those?
If a 10 doesn’t seem possible or practical, which level is possible & practical? If a 10 requires incremental improvements, can they afford the resources & learn skills?
What are they willing to do to remake, improve & maintain experiences?
If short-cuts are possible, do they think the quality will be too low?
They can decrease or eliminate minor elements to have more time & money for important elements. Which elements do they want to increase, decrease, eliminate or add?
How often can they afford their experiences? Do they own necessary products or do they have to buy or rent some things?
If they want a peak experience, how long should it last?
Do they want similar or different peak experiences?
Do they want something similar or different than the most popular experiences? Do they search for the next big thing?
Are they open to suggestions? Which options would make their experiences better? If they want to adjust experiences, which options might change things too much?
Do you have processes for gathering experience descriptions so you can introduce possibilities? You can gather descriptions by asking customers & checking the internet for consumers’ reviews.
Descriptions can help people find experiences compatible with their lifestyles, so they prevent dissatisfaction.
What Makes Experiences Valuable?
Beat competitors by helping people create experiences instead of just pushing products.
Though the primary value of experiences is immediate enjoyment, memories are valuable long-term benefits.
Some experiences are created by combining multiple elements, so help people choose & create the best elements to make their experiences special.
Help people determine how to create experiences with criteria for choosing elements possibly based on previous experiences &/or observations. People want the same or better experiences they see in pictures & videos, so ask them bring those.
Even when people enjoy experiences, they may want variety. Some might want more challenges.
You might offer a more physically assessable version, so people can do a version of an activity despite handicaps.
If there are popular experiences you can’t accommodate, divide experiences into elements. You might accommodate or create enough elements for satisfying experiences. Do people enjoy fast speeds, competition, social contact, being outside & easy-to-use equipment?
Some, who enjoy those elements, can’t afford or don’t know to implement full experiences. Help people adjust what they can control, so they can create a satisfying adaptation.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2019 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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