subject: Management Tip: The Customers Buying Process by:Daryl Cowie [print this page] If you want to design your business so that it provides the best possible experience for your customers, you have to think about the customer process. People go through the same steps every time that they look for a product to help them satisfy one of their basic needs. By understanding these steps you can better understand the customer and come up with ways to better serve the people who buy from you. Let's think about the steps that people go through when they shop for something so that we can come up with some business management tips that will help us build a stronger business.
What are the steps that people follow every time that they buy something? There are four basic stages in the process: the first is that people recognize that they have a need and go shopping, the second is that they find the solution to their need in some kind of product and decide that they are going to buy it, the third is that they purchase the item and get ready to use it, and the last is that they start using the item. At each of these steps your company can provide greater service to the customer by making it easier for the customer to move from one step to the next.
For the first step, where the customer realizes that there is a need and goes shopping for a product to help satisfy the need, you can assist the customer through good marketing. Even if you have the perfect product for a customer, they are not going to be able to find it if you do not put the name and information about the product out there. Marketing helps direct the consumers to your door and directs them from the first step in their buying process to the next step: selecting a product and placing an order.
Placing the order is another step that you can streamline for the customer. Does the customer of your business have to come to your physical location, or is it possible for the customer to order your products online, over the phone, via cell phone text messages or any other way? The more options that you give people to order a product and the easier that you make it, the more people will complete the ordering process and the more sales you will make.
Next, you need to deliver the item that the customer has purchased - this goes in the step between purchasing the item and getting to use the item. Think about the shipping or delivery methods that you use and how efficient they are. Is it possible for you to increase the speed at which your products reach their destinations? Can you make shipping less expensive ensure that your products reach their destinations safely?
Finally, once the product has reached the customer, the customer will begin to use it. By making sure that you have the best product possible and that what you are selling truly rises to satisfy the needs of the consumer you can ensure that you will receive good word of mouth as well as repeat business.
By thinking about how each of these steps can be streamlined or somehow made more efficient, you can increase the profits of your company by better satisfying the needs of your customers. Happy customers will spread word about your company to others who have the same needs and your business will start to boom. Happy customers will come back for more.
About the author
Daryl Cowie has shared management tips with 1000s of people in over 30 countries around the world. His mission is to help you and your company turn business opportunities into business realities.
