The early days of eBay proved that buyers don’t just want a solution; they want to feel good about it. EBay’s slogan in those days was to “Shop victoriously”. This demonstrates the emotional impact that shopping has in our lives.
Many marketers tend to think that buyers shop in a logical manner. However, this is not the case. Studies have shown that shoppers make decisions based on emotion and then try to justify them with logic. They want to feel good about what they have purchased. In particular, they love to feel as if they have gotten a great bargain.
If they feel good about their purchases, they will tell one other person what a great experience they have had. On the other hand, if they do not feel good about their purchase, they will complain to seven other people about their experience.
With those odds being so stacked against businesses, it is important to understand what really motivates buyers so they can feel good about what they are purchasing and be much less likely to complain and cause customer service issues or damage to your brand.
Here are several areas to pay attention to in order to maintain a “feel-good factor” for your customers.
Good Price
Good price is always going to make a customer happy. However, they also have to feel as if they’re getting good value. You can buy cheap coffee, for instance, but if it is a misery to drink, then it really has little value.
Good Value
Good value goes beyond price. If you are selling a product and service in order to offer a solution, it must effectively solve their problem in order to be seen as worth the money. It should be a pleasure to use and enhance their life in some way.
Easy to Implement, and Hassle-Free
The solution should be easy to use and follow through with. For example, if you sell an eBook that promises customers they can lose 7 pounds in 7 days, they need to feel good about doing it and be given clear instructions. Telling them to eat one lettuce leaf a day and drink lots of water is not going to make most people happy, or feel as if the book is good value.
However, if you give them a detailed meal plan of exactly what to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks every day for 7 days and exactly the exercises they need to burn the right amount of calories for each of the 7 days, this product clearly offers more value and will be an easier sell.
They will also feel good about having made the right decision because they can see how well laid out the plan is, and how practical and realistic it is compared to a starvation diet. They will not feel cheated by a “book” that is only three pages long, and will be impressed by a well-presented guide with trackers, worksheets and so on to help you succeed in losing those 7 pounds.
The Show-Off Factor
People who feel really good about their purchases are more than happy to show them off. We can see this with the trend on Facebook for people to post photographs of all their latest purchases. We can also see it in the trend of “unboxing videos” – that is, people who actually film themselves opening a package after it comes in the mail or after they make a purchase. They take it out of the box and then start to use it.
Tapping into the feel-good factor of shopping can make your customers feel more satisfied and help you increase your sales.
