9 Ways to Make People Buy From You
If you have a business, you are selling something. Whether it's groceries, SPA services, or advertising space, you are looking for customers who will give you their money in exchange for the products/services you offer. It’s a basic truth that the most important thing for you is your customers. Without them, your business wouldn't exist.
But the competition in the market is enormous. Therefore, any advantage you have to secure new customers who buy from you must be used to the fullest. In the fight for customers and more sales, the winner is the one with a greater arsenal of techniques, methods, and tools.
Here are nine "immortal" techniques that will help you increase your sales and build a constantly growing group of loyal customers around you.
Repetition
Repetition is one of the most important things. The potential customer needs to see your advertising message multiple times to mature into making a purchase decision. There is even research suggesting that to make a purchase decision, a customer needs to receive the same advertising message at least seven times.
Of course, there are foolish and smart ways to repeat the message. What will guarantee you greater success is not just repeating your offer, but presenting it in different ways each time. Say it directly. Use an example. Tell a story. Show a quote from a famous person... Be creative. Repeat the essence but use different forms and formats.
Give Them a Reason to Buy
You can't just tell people, "Buy this and that," and expect them to listen. Direct commands provoke resistance in potential customers. They need to know "why" they are making the purchase. Give them a reason why they need your product/service, even if it sounds silly, and you'll remove another obstacle to a successful sale.
Which ad would make you buy soap? "Buy our soap!" or "Theo soap contains aloe vera extract for softening. It’s gentle on your hands."
Social Proof
To some extent, people are herd animals and usually trust something that is confirmed by others. In this sense, positive opinions from already satisfied customers can be invaluable for your successful sales. Especially if these customers are well-known and respected in society, have titles, or simply look good in the photos you provide.
Comparisons
Comparisons are a very powerful tool, especially when used skillfully. Use metaphors and analogies to show the advantages of the product you offer and highlight it as a good deal. Since marketing, in this case, is not mathematics, you can even compare non-similar things to achieve your goals.
Highlight the Problem and Reveal the Solution
This technique involves identifying and highlighting the relevant problem of the potential customer – show it to them, make them feel it (again), to experience their dissatisfaction. But don't be sadistic. The goal is to show that you understand the customer's problem and that you are on their side. After achieving this level of empathy, you can present your solution to the described problem, arguing elegantly and adequately.
Give Predictions
You can make predictions to the customer that work in your favor and convince them to buy your products and services. But for these predictions to have weight, you need to support them with something convincing – your authority, indirect and direct evidence, conclusions, references to other authorities. Using this technique, you can sell refrigerators to Eskimos if you describe the idea of global warming convincingly enough.
Use the Feeling of Belonging
People love to belong to something, to be part of something bigger. Give them the opportunity to fulfill this desire and they will buy what you offer. Learn what group your customers want to belong to (create one for them if necessary) and invite them to join, showing that the group is for the chosen ones, i.e., not for everyone. Examples of this are various "Gold Membership" packages, "VIP cards," and similar.
Preventive Objections Handling
Know what objections are expected against your offer, mention them in your advertising texts (customer conversations), and refute the objections yourself with logical and adequate arguments. Do this before the customer thinks of them. And don't leave them with objections and doubts in their head, otherwise, it will be hard to close the sale.
When making a sale, it's important to control not only the explicit dialogue but also the dialogue in the customer's head. In negotiations (advertising, sales), you are conducting two conversations – the external and the internal. You need to be able to convince the customer on both levels that it's worth buying what you offer.
Tell Stories
Stories capture attention. They engage the listener/reader, involving them mentally and emotionally. Through stories, you can discreetly influence the emotions and thoughts of your potential customers. And that's the way to convince them – directly or indirectly – to take advantage of what you offer. Tell stories, engaging stories, strong stories. They are the key to effective persuasion and sales.
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Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of marketing techniques, but it is a list of techniques that work and have proven themselves over the years. If you use them, your chances of more sales and more loyal customers will increase significantly.