Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header
Share for a Cause









Why Customers Buy

Written by: Ed Delia

Article Overview: Imagine you're faced with a major purchasing decision for your business. It could be new office furniture, or retaining a new accounting firm, or a new IT firm to manage your network. You do all you can to make an informed purchase. But what do you really know about the product or service you're purchasing? Do you really understand the nuances?

Free Download - May the best brand win. And he did. - Three Great Branding Lessons from the Campaign Trail By Ed Delia
Name: Email:

Why Customers Buy

Imagine you're faced with a major purchasing decision for your business. It could be new office furniture, or retaining a new accounting firm, or a new IT firm to manage your network.

You do all you can to make an informed purchase. But what do you really know about the product or service you're purchasing? Do you really understand the nuances?

Take the IT firm as an example. Did you screen and test their knowledge, read up on current IT trends, survey their current customers, give them a trial assignment? Or did you select the firm you liked the best?

The fact is, today, few of us have the time to dig too deeply on buying decisions. We do our best to make smart, informed choices. But in the end, we typically buy from people we like the most and identify with the best.

Think about some of the best sales people you know. They’re personable, likable individuals, the types that just seem to draw you in. They’ve got character, and many of them even are characters.

The same thinking can be applied to corporate brands. A brand is a claim of distinction, but it can also be considered a company’s personality. Whether it’s a product or service, we buy the brands we like the best, the ones whose personality best matches our own.

If you want to substantially grow your business, build a likeable brand.

BUILDING THE LIKEABLE BRAND.
First things first. Think about your A-level customers. They’re the ones that you love working with, the ones that really make your business hum. There’s a reason why they’re such great customers. They probably like the experience of working with you as much as you with them. Yours is a likeable brand. There’s tremendous value in understanding why.

If you can discover why your A-level customers appreciate the business relationship, you can position your brand to highlight the exact characteristics that similar-minded prospects would also value.

Then your brand becomes a beacon. But it doesn’t attract any customer. It only attracts A-level customers. After all, isn’t that what we’re after? A one-time customer may represent a few hundred or a few thousand dollars in revenue, but a repeat customer could represent exponentially more.

What are some things you can do today to make yours a more likeable brand? Think about it.

Related Articles
  How to Generate Sales and the Danger of Vitamin C Deficiency
  Having Conversations with Prospects
  Sales Killers to Avoid
  Enhance Your Value
  Sales Prospecting for Sales Results

Home > Branding > Ed Delia > Why Customers Buy
Article Tags:

About the Author: Ed Delia
RSS for Ed's articles - Visit Ed's website

Ed Delia grew up in the dynamic and challenging world of marketing. In 1998, he was named president of Delia Associates, assuming full control of the company founded by his father in 1964. Delia Associates has directly contributed to the success and growth of a wide varitey of clients, helping businesses expand their sales opportunities through the development and implementation of highly successful branding campaigns. In 2007, Ed became only the ninth professional in N.J. to earn the Professional Certified Marketer designation from the American Marketing Association, Joing an Elite group of just 250 marketing professionals in the U.S. who hold that designation. Ed was honored as one of New Jersey's 40 under 40 for 20069, an annual designation by NJBiz, the state's leading business publication. He also was named 2006 Outstanding Business Person of the Year by the Somerset Business Partnership. Ed is a frequent speaker on branding, marketing, advertising, and technology-driven communications. He is an Expert Speaker for Vistage International, the largest peer-to-peer learning organization for CEOs. Ed earned his BA in English from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.

Click here to visit Ed's website
Dashed Line

More from Ed Delia
Is Your Home Page Written for You or for Them
ROI is Everything Or is it
Method Mapping The secret revealed
Branding The Magic Bean or Field of Dreams
People dont hate advertising They hate bad ads


Related Forum Posts
Re: Two Useful Books To Help You Focus On The CLIENT Re: Two Useful Books To Help You Focus On The CLIENT - Hi David, To add to your thread, I'd like to recommend Jonathan Tisch's "Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience". Tisch's book includes content on "Welcoming Customers", "The New Art of Customization", "The Challenges of Customer Diversity" and "Offering Something Extra to Your Customers" to name a few.
How to Do Great Marketing with (Amost) No Money How to Do Great Marketing with (Amost) No Money - I've given this presentation to CEOs many times. Now i can share it with you. But I cannot because I do not yet have 20 posts. Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers
Re: Are Business Owners too Old School to be Sold by a blog Re: Are Business Owners too Old School to be Sold by a blog - [quote:140e27hj]Customers Pick Static Documents over Blog Entries 8 to 1 on Average[/quote:140e27hj] Interesting study. Just as a commenter said on your post... don't call it a blog. I agree.
Re: pitching Re: pitching - Friendliness is closely related to the concept of "permission marketing" as articulated by Seth Godin. The subtitle of his book says it all: "Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers." The old method was "interruption marketing" where you suddenly get an ad in your face whether you want it or not...
20% increase 20% increase - One of my businesses uses a system to help business owners manage customer relationships and encourage more referrals. I'm finding that this economy is making business owners take a second look at their business and it's assets (aka customers) to see how they can leverage them. Make those Customers (one-time sale) into Clients (repeat sales). I'm finding them more open to having this discussion with me and the results are speaking for itself. Everyone I've worked with so far has seen at least a 20% increase in sales or referrals within 4-6 months all done by managing an existing relationship.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article


Bottom Footer
Share for a Cause












Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

Do You Deserve To Be Happy and Successful?

Maximum Impact Restaurant Greening

Adjusting Your World

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.