Customer integration can be deeper if your offers connect to people’s central issues. Possible Examples: health, safety, family loyalty, shelter, career, comfort
Certainty Is A Valuable Benefit.
Product returns & exchanges can relieve dissatisfaction but you can help customers avoid dissatisfaction with consultations about combining products & information for certain results. Explain how to use product & information combinations to convert current conditions to desired results.
Study customers’ central issues, so your offers fill as many gaps as practical & remove as many risks as possible.
People need certainty in their central issues, so they need complete (often long-term) solutions. Gaps are differences between current conditions & people’s goals.
Talk to customers about what certainty & completeness is for their concerns. If completeness isn’t possible or affordable, explain how your offers fulfill customers’ main criteria.
People miss benefits when they're skeptical about products or doubt solutions are possible. Skeptics have been disappointed & want more certainty than most people.
You can acquire loyal customers by helping skeptics bypass doubt with authoritative coaching about the right products & techniques for specific problems.
Explain how specific technology combinations of products & techniques solve problems better than alternatives.
Doubt rises when projects fail. Offer to review details of customers’ needs, so they have all products & information for successful, complete results.
Projects might fail if people don’t know about product limitations or how to use features to create specific benefits.
Though detailed learning requires more time, people can be more certain when they understand what to expect from products & results they create. Examples: Are they buying the best tools for producing & maintaining their results? How long should they expect results to last?
Offer extra value that makes your store an irreplaceable part of projects.
Example: ‘Your project success depends on step-by-step plans for using high quality tools & materials. That’s why (store) offers consultations to be sure product features & specifications match your project expectations. Let’s plan tasks & choose products based on your goal, so everything is compatible with your needs & skills.’
Customized Value
Will customers need to adjust long-term solutions? Example: Some people invest in high quality vacuum cleaners, but some cleaners are too heavy as people age. Some stores take trade-ins & sell lighter models, so customers can keep benefits as their conditions change.
Ask for details about customers’ property conditions & desired results, so you can compare how well products fill each gap & reduce risks.
There can be safety & visual issues from damage. Help people identify safety issues that are less obvious than visual issues.
Guide people in prioritizing problems to avoid increasing damage. Example: What would happen if we fix (problem 1) now & fix (problem 2) later?
Help people consider options.
Examples: What’s needed to restore conditions or even upgrade to better level? Should customers replace parts with the same specifications as originals? Would more advanced parts resist damage better?
Help customers choose products based on their desires, plus provide information about needs they might not recognize.
Explore Product Limitations & Potentials.
Do products totally fulfill customers’ needs & desires? Which added details & benefits would make solutions complete?
Are products too powerful or weak for customers’ comfort? Do products have excessive (& more expensive) features than customers need or want?
Review how product advantages & disadvantages affect tasks & results, so people are prepared to work before they leave your store. Example: Tasks take longer if people have to stop work to avoid hazards (vent toxic fumes).
Are there milder products that bring complete results?
When customers are aware of gaps or risks, you can help them avoid problems & maximize value by working around imperfections.
Review risks & help people prepare for unavoidable risks.
Example: Since perfection is impossible, products can fail at the worst times. Is it practical to have a loaner or prorated replacement program? Even if new product versions are released, you could have older versions from trade-ins. People, who use older loaners, won’t have to learn instructions of new versions at stressful times.
Influence People By Helping Them
People are attracted & influenced by value. Gain & maintain attention & influence by offering benefits that fit what people want to control.
When vital issues are at risk, people often have to make unfamiliar decisions. Make their decisions easier by explaining problems & clarify how products & instructions bring specific results.
Even if competitors have wide selections, they have limited influence if they only offer products without guidance. Increase your influence by offering all resources for maximizing people's results.
Effectively helping people can depend on what you offer & how you offer it. You can make effective offers based on physical (what people need) & psychological (why they need it) conditions.
Here are some reactions to perceived risks with general offers for those people:
Fight: Even without full preparation, people might rush to mitigate damage with current resources. They might think they know enough & don’t need other resources. When problems are imminent, it’s important to assure people you'll help them prepare with full solution implementations.
Example: ‘(Symptoms) show (problem) is starting. (Store) has kits for diagnosing & solving (problem). These kits include products, instructions & plans for eliminating & preventing (problem) step-by-step for long-term relief.’
Flight/Flee/Denial: People try to escape by ignoring or denying problems if solutions seem impossible, impractical or too expensive. Authoritative information can confirm problems are real & solutions work. Explain how offers fit people’s conditions.
Example: ‘You’ve probably noticed (symptoms) as (problem) starts. According to (authority), (problem) is caused by __ & (product) is an effective remedy. You can reduce or eliminate (cause) with techniques using (product). (Store) has kits for different budgets. Kits include instructions for products with tasks & information to confirm tasks are completed. For $XX, you can get temporary relief by reducing (symptoms) with a cleanup kit. $YY will bring full relief from a cleanup & prevention kit.’
Freeze: People hesitate to avoid making mistakes because potential mistakes seem worse than original problems. It’s especially true if they’re unsure about causes & effects. They need information, but don’t know where to find it. Assure them you can help with diagnosis & step-by-step plans.
Example: ‘When you notice (symptoms) from (problem), it’s hard to determine what happened & why. You need complete solutions including information about causes & effects, plus advice about (products) & plans for using them, so you can solve & prevent (problem). (Store) has that information, advice & products.’
Focus On Higher Priorities: With limited resources, people tolerate some problems & only solve what seems most serious. Explain why imminent or current problems should be high priorities.
Example: ‘Each summer brings (problem). Symptoms diminish in winter, but damage increases each year until all causes are eliminated. Look for (symptoms), answer the questions below & bring your details to (Store). You’ll find the kit you need for the amount of damage you need to repair.’
You can influence people by helping them regain & maintain control.
Your inventory & marketing should be influenced by customers’ priorities. You can shape their responses to your inventory & marketing by offering more effective ways of fulfilling their priorities.
Describe why products & services are more effective & efficient in specific conditions.
Example: ‘When (product) is used according to instructions, outside air is sealed out, so (describe positive result). (Product) is effective & efficient for local needs because (describe how the product is made).’
People can focus on more serious matters after using products & services to control some factors.
Many offers can be framed as maintenance to control conditions by preventing, reversing or limiting losses. People might prioritize maintenance more than gaining what’s out of reach but if they’ve almost achieved something, they don’t want to lose their opportunities.
Need & Readiness Are NOT the Same.
If people feel they aren't ready for offers, they might not respond. You can decrease people’s distress by integrating with them at different preparation & skill levels.
Example: ‘(Store) has products & advice for a variety of skill levels & needs. Let’s talk about your readiness & find what you need.’
Fast Information Can Reduce Stress.
Your store can be a resource for preventing & solving problems & relieving stress.
Since stress can increase until problems are solved, stress increases while people research & compare solution options. It’s especially true if people don’t know which information is reliable.
Relieve stress by making your store a total source of products plus information about identifying & solving problems.
Offer Example: ‘New product innovations can totally solve more problems. The options can be overwhelming because as questions increase, answers feel more confusing. (Store) is designed to clarify issues & stop problems. Let’s compare your needs & options by finding specific questions & answers. Let’s sift through the possibilities & find what works for you.’
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