I've been invited to address the Operation JumpStart class in the Best Southwest Small Business Development Center at Cedar Valley Community College later this month, and that's the topic I've been asked to address.
I suppose business people have been asking that question since buying and selling began. Entire books and courses exist that talk about nothing else. What makes a person or company decide to buy from one company and not another? Are the companies that different? Are the products that different? Many companies offer the same or similar products, yet some are clearly more successful than others. Why is that?
Most of us don't have the time and/or resources to study this exhaustively. There is a new book or workshop every year. You could start reading right now and still not have finished all the books on this topic by the end of the year! Personally, after many years as both a marketer and a professional sales rep, what I believe is pretty simple and straightforward:
Buyer Fact #1: People don't buy what they don't know about.
Buyer Fact #2: Knowing about something isn't the same as being interested in it.
Buyer Fact #3: Most purchases are based on emotion.
Buyer Fact #4: Once emotion and interest are engaged, logic can justify the purchase.
Knowing just these few things about buyers should make some marketing truths pretty clear. If you hope to sell your product, you need to understand these truths.
Marketing Truth #2: You have to know how to reach them.
Marketing Truth #3: You have to present your product in a way that appeals to their emotion.
Marketing Truth #4: You can usually charge a higher price when people want what you sell.
While there can be some variations on this based on whether you're selling b2b or b2c, there's still a lot of truth to the old saying "People buy from People". Even in a b2b setting, where logic seems to dictate purchases, when all products and prices are similar, emotion is likely to tip the balance.
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