Ever wondered why people see an iPhone and they are ready to buy it? They don’t consider how expensive it might be or consider other budget-friendly alternatives – they want an iPhone.
But why?
Here’s the truth: Customers don’t just buy products. They buy certainty. They want to ensure what a business offers are worth it, performs well, and that they can trust the brand.
Irrespective of the products you sell, your buyers evaluate you before every purchase. So, what exactly are they looking for?
At After Branding, we’ve narrowed down the key decision factors. Let’s look at 5 things buyers look out for before making a purchase.
1. Price – Is It Justified?
From the iPhone example discussed above, one thing’s for certain – customers don’t always want a cheaper option. They want something that makes them think offers the right value in return for their money.
If you’re under-pricing yourself to outshine your competitors, you will likely end up hurting your profits and reputation. Remember, lower price doesn’t only reflect the products are affordable – it also reflects that the products might be low in quality.
Meet Zahra – The Home Chef That Nailed Pricing
Zahra runs a small home-based catering service. She charges more than the local restaurants in her. However, Zahra sells differently by making every dish fresh, customized according to customer preference, and careful packaging.
Her focus on the customer experience shows that Zahra isn’t competing on price – she’s competing on value. This focus on value ensures her customers keep coming back because they know exactly what they’re paying for.
How Can You Influence Price Perception:
- Talk about your business processes. Ensure your customers know the efforts and care you’re putting into making your products.
- Leverage printed menus, brochures, and WhatsApp Stories to show what makes your products worth the price.
- Position your pricing with verbiage like “locally sourced”, “organic”, “handcrafted”, etc. These wordings help customers connect costs with quality.
2. Reputation – What Other Customers Think About You
Every business believes that they are the best. Frankly, that energy is what enables you to perform and deliver your best products.
Unfortunately, hearing from a business that they are the best isn’t new for the customers. However, they care about what other people, or your customers say about you.
This is what reputation means, and this is why it matters the most. While it builds slowly and spreads quietly, it controls how many customers are willing to take a chance with your business.
The Truth About Reputation
There’s a common misconception that building reputation requires a strong online presence or big online review profile. While it significantly helps, its not impossible to solidify your reputation without it.
Even a small business that consistently gets recommended across the locals can have a stronger reputation than a business with 5-star ratings. It comes down to the value your products are offering and how you make the customers feel.
Reputation is a brand’s social proof. It’s the alibi your customers tell when you’re not present.
Steps To Building Reputation
- Ask satisfied customers for testimonials in any form they’re comfortable with. This could be video, written, or even voice notes.
- If you’re a physical business owner, utilize printed signs that feature real customer feedback.
- Encourage the word-of-mouth by providing great customer service and thanking/gifting customers when they refer you.
- Whenever a customer says something good about your business, screenshot them and post on your social media profiles.
These small steps create a ripple effect with a significantly larger impact.
3. Familiarity – Have I Seen This Before?
Customers buy what they recognize. It’s not because it might be the best product – it’s because they’re familiar with them. When a customer is familiar with a brand, they feel safe, trusted, and known.
This is why visibility is one of the 5 things buyers look out for before making a purchase. Hence, it’s crucial for your brand to interact with a customer more than once. When customers see you more often, they’re likely to remember and trust you more.
Meet John – The Car Whisperer
Let’s look at John, who runs his family-owned garage. John doesn’t have a website, any social media presence, or even a business card. But what he has is happy customers, great service, and reliability.
His quality service guarantees that people have seen and noticed him. This ensures that the customers will come to him when they need help.
Some Strategies to Building Familiarity
- Distribute your flyers into local grocery stores and community places.
- Maintain consistency in your messaging – same colors, same tone, same offering, at every touchpoint.
- Participate in local events.
4. Need – Do I Actually Need This?
Need is one of the most important factors that customers think before making a purchase. You can have the best product, best price, and even the best reviews – but if your customers don’t see how your product solves their problem, they won’t make the purchase.
Hence, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of your ideal customer profile and target audience.
Meet Sarah – The Fitness Coach Helping People Get The Body They Need
Take Sarah for example, a local fitness coach. Despite not having her website, she prints out a short case study with photos of clients who’ve transformed their health through her coaching.
She tapes those stories to the mirror in her studio, allowing any person walking by to see the results. This draws the customer’s need to join her fitness centre.
Steps To Creating Need
- Tell stories. What pain point did your customer have before? How did your products solve the problem?
- Use visuals like before/after photos, quick demos, or short videos.
- Understand your target audience and perform constant research as to what’s holding them back.
5. Functionality – Will It Actually Work?
Last but not the least – one of the most important things customers ask before making a purchase is, “Does this do what it says?”
Customers don’t want empty promises. They want proof. In fact, this is where a lot of businesses lose trust. They often make big promises and later can’t deliver on them. Once that happens, it spreads like wildfire.
This makes functionality even more important – because if your products aren’t functional, it’ll also damage your reputation.
Meet Shane – The eCommerce Store Owner Who Delivers What He Promises
Shane, a dedicated e-Commerce store owner that vets every product before listing them on the website. This oversight gives him a better idea of what a product can deliver, leading to creating apt product descriptions.
These product descriptions not only focused on what the product could do, but were also paired with the necessary verbiage, as discussed in the first point.
Additionally, this ensures that his business can deliver on what he promises and cna provie it.
How You Can Reinforce Functionality
- Use real-life demos where possible.
- Let your customers see the results.
- Offer additional value that reassures people. Ie. “If you receive the product with any [x] faults, we’ll replace it free”.
Final Words
Let’s face it: You can’t run a business with random moves and guesswork, at least not a successful one. Running a successful business requires effective planning, a strong understanding of why people buy, and what their target audience want.
While you might be an expert in your business, all these tactics and strategies for better engagement can quickly become overwhelming. That’s why you need an expert – that’s why you need After Branding.
At After Branding, we believe in creating, clear scalable strategies that help your business grow holistically. We take a step-by-step approach to making your business recognized, understand what customers are looking for, and build your brand identity to reflect those needs.
We help you build reputation, familiarity, and trust using what you already have. Because growth doesn’t begin when your product is ready – it begins when your customer is ready.
Ready to show your customers all five reasons why choosing you is the right move? Let’s make it happen. Schedule your free consultation today!
