Beverlee Rasmussen CEC PCC You may have heard of the 5 Steps in the Consumer Decision-Making Process. These are the mental steps a customer goes through to make a decision to purchase your product or service.
As a quick review here are the five steps in the buying process:
- Attention – obtain your prospect’s full attention.
- Interest – develop your prospect’s interest in your product.
- Desire – create a desire that fulfills your prospect’s needs.
- Conviction – prove your product can meet your prospect’s needs.
- Purchase – prompt action from your prospect that ends in a purchase.
Example of a purchasing decision
Here are the five steps in action! Sometimes a consumers purchasing decision can be as simple as this example.
Let’s say you own a bakery and sell cookies.
You capture a potential customer’s attention by placing your chocolate chip cookies in a window display. They stop and look at the cookies intently.
You have a sign in the window that says “Want a snack?” Your sign opens up a discussion that keeps them interested because they are hungry and a snack will satisfy that.
But they don’t know for sure if your cookie has chocolate chips or raisins in it. Then they see a label by the cookies that has all the ingredients on it, including chocolate chips. By listing the ingredients, you anticipated their objections and maintained their desire.
Just then, one of your most loyal customers walks out of your bakery and sees them looking. “Those are the best chocolate chip cookies in town,” they say. This word-of-mouth testimonial establishes conviction in your potential buyer. No doubts about your cookies remain.
Your potential customer decides they will buy a cookie. They open the door to your bakery and see a sign at the register that says: “Order Here.” This directs them to the method they need to use to make a purchase.
Do you know your consumer’s buying process?
Take a moment to reflect on your customer’s buying process. Write out exactly how they come to purchase your product. Do you have all the steps in place? What can you adjust to make their path to purchasing easier? What system do you have in place to ensure a sale?
Until next time, enjoy your Entrepreneurial Journey!
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