The meeting with a new client went very well until I asked a difficult question.

Why does your customer buy from you? Why you and not someone else? Do you understand their motivation? 

The team assembled gave me several reasons, but none of them felt authentic. They seemed forced and generic. Most of their responses revolved around price.

When I asked, how do you know this?

They were quiet. Nothing. Silent. Not a word. Mostly shoulder shrugs.

Companies count what stuff gets sold but frequently don’t or can’t track beyond units and price. What if you could go much deeper to understand and monitor why they buy and, how they buy. Imagine studying business you lose as aggressively as the ones you win.

Understanding motive matters.

I like to watch and listen to people shop or talk in public about their buying habits. When I attend trade conferences or business events or wait at airports, I enjoy eavesdropping on a loud phone user to hear her discuss why she wants to go with one vendor over another.

In B2B settings, people buy because:

• They want to feel safe and minimize risk. (No one was ever fired hiring IBM)
• They want to appear smart. (Look what solution I found)
• They want to seem fiscally savvy. (Everyone buys from them)
• They want to be considered clever in uncovering a hidden resource. (No one knows these guys)
• They want a good fit for use. (Just the right amount of help – no bells & whistles)

The Buyers Journey

The buyer’s journey has also changed in that most buyers, according to Forrester, have 75% of the information they need before they speak to someone in sales. That changes the role of sales and how they need to learn to listen, not just sell. Customers have so much information before they talk to sales that it elevates the critical importance that a crystal clear marketing message has in your efforts.

Prospects review websites, webinars, videos, and ratings. Most people use approximately nine independent sources when making a purchase.

A recent study from Harvard indicated that when a company responds to an online lead within sixty minutes, they were seven times more likely to get business from that company. The study also cited that only 37% of leads are responded to that promptly.

If you had a deeper understanding of motivation, is it possible your marketing would be more effective? Maybe your message is telling the wrong story. And perhaps, you aren’t in rhythm with your customer’s cadence. If you aren’t responding to their immediate needs, they quickly move to the next vendor in their Google search.

Marketing is about understanding motivation at the deepest level. It involves hearing and understanding the customer’s story they tell themselves.

And, it involves being on their schedule.

Do you understand what motivates your customer’s to buy from you?

Does your team track losses as well as wins? Do you genuinely understand what prompted a purchase? Call me at 919 720 0995 or email me at jeffslater@themarketingsage.com – Book time to talk and review your situation on my calendar.

Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash