the #1 reason your customers aren’t buying from you
I know you have heard the saying that “Knowledge is Power.” or that “Information is Key”. There have never been truer statements…especially in running a retail business.
I have one that I would like to add, “ An informed Customer is a happy Customer!”.
One of the biggest pet peeves of mine when I am shopping ( besides poor customer service) is when I have questions that cannot be answered. If there isn't a store employee around and I can’t decide what the price of something is or what the fit is. Or when I am online and I don’t see what something is made of or what my options are. All of this really causes friction in my experience and I usually end up frustrated, annoyed, and I LEAVE.
This is the same for your customers. If they have too many unanswered questions or encounter ANY friction during their time interacting with your brand, they will get frustrated and leave. What’s the point of:
Having a dialed in Marketing Plan that attracts and speaks to your Target Market
Advertisements and Marketing that brings customers by the hundreds to your store
A beautiful and stunning store with a killer layout that keeps your customers engaged to browse
And entertaining stories that connect your customers with your brand and products much that they can’t wait to shop from you
And you tick them off because of a lack of key information they need to close the sale! All of this work is for nothing if you can’t CLOSE the sale.
This is another top miss of many small retailers. Many don’t realize that there are 4 parts to the customer’s journey and ALL 4 must be in place in order for you to convert visitors into BUYERS. This is a pivotal point in the journey, because you have your visitor hooked. They are all in on your, your brand, and your products. They love your store and are enjoying the shopping process through your engaging layout and wonderful displays telling captivating stories on how your products will really help them and their lives. Everything is going great. Then they really want to find something to buy… and it goes downhill from there.
Poof! They are gone!
Why? Because you caused friction and made them regret shopping with you.
This is where the last and final step, Step 4 of the D.E.C.I.Method comes in…Inform. Keeping your customers informed is key to getting them to buy from you. This is the stage of the journey where they are really open. They want to learn more. They are ready and willing to pull out that credit card and make a purchase. This is where you can have them “Eating out of your hand”. They are already sold and want to buy. It’s up to you to reinforce that desire and tell them everything that they want to know.
I will say it again, “ An Informed Customer is a Happy Customer”.
This information can be any of the following to close the sale:
Color choices
Sizes
Materials
Fit
End uses
Vendor or designer information
Price
Sourcing
And so much more!
You want to put yourself in the mind of your customer and give them the information they would need if they were directly talking to you. I would say small online stores get this the most. While small Brick-and-mortar stores struggle with this one. They feel that the personal touch( which is awesome) is all that they need to close a sale. That is NOT the case. Many are missing out on thousands of dollars because of this misconception.
With this said, many small online stores could still use a lot of work in this department. There is a right and wrong way to do this and knowing the difference can be the key to having raving customers, or just another bounced visitor.
There are various ways both online and brick-and-mortar stores can utilize to keep their visitors/customers informed as with the other steps, they look slightly different, but have the same impact and results…SALES!
Want to dig deeper and learn more? Go here!
Nichole
