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The End of Buyer’s Remorse

Written by: Laura Posey

Article Overview: I’ve been doing a lot of research lately in preparation for a new online training course I’m developing and I’ve come across some very interesting ideas that you might be able to use in your sales process. One of the most powerful is how buyer behavior has evolved over the past ten years and how you can adapt to and take advantage of those changes.

The End of Buyer’s Remorse

I’ve been doing a lot of research lately in preparation for a new online training course I’m developing and I’ve come across some very interesting ideas that you might be able to use in your sales process.

One of the most powerful is how buyer behavior has evolved over the past ten years and how you can adapt to and take advantage of those changes.

As you might have noticed, buyers have a way of changing their habits over time as they get groomed by marketers to behave in new ways. About ten years ago, the Internet started changing buyer behavior by allowing them to research and comparison shop products before making a buying decision. Nowadays over 87% of people look online for information and/or pricing before they buy so much as a book or CD.

About five years ago, the Internet changed buyer behavior again when companies like Amazon started offering customer reviews of their products. No longer did buyers have to trust what the seller said, they could get feedback from real users before they committed their own dollars. Again, now it is commonplace for companies to allow buyers to rate and rank their products online and share that feedback with the world. It’s a scary proposition for sellers but since buyers expect it, they have to deliver. If you sell good quality products it can actually be a real boon for you.

In the past two years or so, buyers have evolved yet again. As competition got fiercer and buyers got ever more wary of forking over cash without being sure they’d like what they were buying, sellers adapted by offering free trials of just about everything.

Now, that isn’t a new concept, I’ll grant you. When I was in the car business over 15 years ago, one of our favorite ways to sell a car was to send it home for the weekend with a prospect. Once they had seen it in their driveway, gotten compliments from their friends and had a chance to live with it for a few days, they couldn’t help but buy it.

The difference now is that buyers expect a free trial of just about everything.

They want to be 100% sure they will love their new purchase. They want to remove all possibility of the dreaded “buyer’s remorse” if they can. That means they want to try before they buy.

So what can you do to take advantage of this trend?

Of course, you can offer a 14-day, 30-day or longer free trial of your product or service. But some products just don’t lend themselves to that. If you are an accountant or you sell a product that has a complicated and expensive installation or set up this isn’t practical for you.

Your best recourse is to offer your advice for free. Demonstrate to your audience that you are an expert who can be trusted to recommend the right product the first time so the buyer won’t be afraid to make a decision.

There are lots of ways you can do this. Start by writing an article for their trade publication about the ten things they must know before buying a product like yours. Second, offer to speak at their trade association meeting on the same topic. If that scares you, write your own newsletter (again on the same topic) and send it out. You can even create a purely informational website where they can get all the information they need to make an informed decision.

The key here is not to sell but rather to advise and recommend. Give away your knowledge and ideas and you’ll find your credibility soaring. Let them try you before they buy. Let yourself be the trial offer. You can quickly become recognized as the “go-to” person in your field using this strategy.

Buyers today expect to be able to remove as much possibility of buyer’s remorse as possible. Your job is to help them. So what are you going to do today to get started?

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Article Tags: marketing, motivation, sales, sales tips, small business



Related Forum Posts
Re: Are You Complying with the FTC? - A lot online marketers will run to Cyprus and other Islands to do their businesses. FTC rule or no rule the Internet is a global thing and still a wild wild west. Buyers should be careful and do due diligent before buying anything online
Re: Are You Complying with the FTC? - [quote="ideasuniversity":2shwf6gr]A lot online marketers will run to Cyprus and other Islands to do their businesses. FTC rule or no rule the Internet is a global thing and still a wild wild west. Buyers should be careful and do due diligent before buying anything online[/quote:2shwf6gr] Exactly. The consumers should have enough common sense to check out a program or product before buying it if they're worried it might be a scam. There's plenty of resources available to aide them in the process. But, unfortunately, everyone must suffer regardless.
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It? - Hi, Tradeshows are attracting different types of people. First, the visitor, which is the main reason of putting it on. Visitors come from all types of background: Buyers, prospective buyers, people who had a business and failed, directors, shopkeepers and even the public. Secondly there are people who just like to meet new people, that is the best place to be. Exchange of business cards, make new contacts for future use. Thirdly, the exhibitors are mixing with one another either help one another or just want to fine out the newest trend. It is also a good place to meet with competitors and learn from their strategies. Finally, there are numerous seminars with excellent speakers, covering a wide range of information. Taking these points in consideration, they are beneficial. Of course, not every exhibitor has the same success.
Re: need pricing help please - I think you could be selling yourself short. Plus you may be focused on the wrong things when it comes to pricing your products. What will your buyers be able to do or get as a result of your product? How much would that be worth to them? Buyers will gladly pay over $100 for a one page report because it tells them exactly what to do to overcome a specific difficult to solve problem. Even when that information can be found free elsewhere. I know it's hard not to compare your eBook to a physical book. Yet, that may not be a fair comparison. Another thing to consider is the perceived value when a product that sounds great comes with a very low price. Some potential buyers will doubt the value of your product because the price seems way too low for the result it promises. There's a quick and easy way for you to discover the right price though. Open a Google Adwords account ($5) and then set-up a multi-variant test for different price points. If you have a decent amount of traffic you'll quickly discover the best price.
Pre-Registering for Events - Hi Kevin! You have gotten some great advice on this thread. I think a combination of all the above, without sounding trite, would be appropriate. Your marketing should be very targeted and very consistent, once a week or whatever in order to lead up to the event. Take a tip from the information marketing world, and send them new notes about what they are going to learn and how its going to change their lives. Buyers specifically want to do 4 things 1) make more money 2) save more money 3) alleviate some pain or stress 4) reduce their workload (or minimize their efforts) (sounds like a great bunch eh?? ;0)) I would also mirror Beat's suggestion. When we are hosting events for clients we do take credit card numbers, and attendees are told that they will be charged a fee for no -shows. (This helps maintain the integrity of the event). The rate can change depending on the event topic or something. We typically charge $99 for no shows so its enough to get people to honor their commitment. ($25 and they didnt care. ;0)) Your client could also promote the expert a bit more, right now their seminars are a bit bland from a 'who are we going to hear from..." perspective. J


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