Six: Customers in Control
Another way to consider the new channels of communication is that they give customers the unprecedented opportunity to broadcast their intentions to marketers. The terms they type into search engines demonstrate their interest, as do comments made in the social media, as do visitors who peruse product information but do not purchase right away.
Recall the earlier statistic: customers consult an average of 7.6 sources of information in the course of making a buying decision - thus the likelihood that a customer visits a Web site with the immediate intention to purchase is slim. With this in mind, there is great deal of opportunity in identifying and attracting the attention of customers that are already in the buying process, if the firm is willing to be supportive of their curiosity rather than impatient to make an immediate sale.
You Sell ...
The problem with traditional approaches to selling is that they are focused entirely on the company's goals and not those of the customers. The use of sales tactics that rely on pressure and manipulation should have given them the clue that they are attempting to close a deal with someone who is not yet ready to buy.
Moreover, sleazy tactics have been overused by companies with inferior products for so long that a customer who feels pressured in the slightest forms the immediate suspicion that there is something wrong and they should disengage.
Even when "selling" was not accomplished by unethical means, firms have generally established a sales process and rigorous procedures that customers must accept in order to do business with them. This is generally based on the efficiency of internal operations rather than the needs and preferences of the customer.
Again, as competitors recognize that accommodating the preferences and schedule of the customer and sell to them in the way that they prefer to purchase, a firm that maintains rigorous policies and procedures will find its revenue decreasing.
... They Buy
The customers' buying processes are about achieving their goals. Form the onset, they are motivated to purchase because they are convinced a product has the potential to be a solution. They have been made to abide sales pitches that do not speak to their needs, and purchasing processes that are inconvenient, and are losing patience.
In addition to considering whether a product suits their needs, they are also considering whether the cost of a product is worth, and whether there are other alternatives that are less costly. And this is where sellers make the tragic mistake of alienating a customer that was interested in purchasing in the process of attempting to "sell" them.
The Two Work in Tandem
When a shopper enters your store or site, they have come because they are engaged in their own buying process, and are not interested in playing a part in the vendor's selling process.
The sales process often seems pointless or irrelevant to customers. When there were a limited number of potential vendors, customers were compelled to tolerate them, and this tolerance gave companies a false sense of control: the customer always had the ability to remove themselves from the situation and seek satisfaction elsewhere - it would merely be inconvenient for them to do so.
Where customers seek advice from vendors, they retain some ability to make suggestions that influence the buying process - though customers are generally aware of their mercenary agenda and are somewhat suspicious of their advice. In the best of cases, the vendor can educate a customer and make them feel more at-ease with the prospect of making a purchase; but in most cases, they seek that advice elsewhere.
Ideally, the relationship is collaborative, but it will always be in favor of the buyer who, at any moment, has the power to decide they've had enough of your silliness and walk away.