It’s the perfect time to take a look at trends that have been emerging over the past year or two that could have a much bigger impact on the way you do business this year and beyond. One of the major shifts has been in consumer buying behaviour.
Access to the Internet, use of social media, and the increase of business ‘content marketing’ have brought about significant changes to the way we purchase services and shop for retail products. These changes are already having an impact on your business, whether you realise it or not.
Retail buying
Shopping for a new television once involved a weekend shopping expedition to check out specials offered by the big name retailers.
Now we look online, comparing prices offered on the retailers’ websites or on some of the price comparison sites that have emerged.
If we spot a new brand, we might ask our social media friends for their opinion, or look for reviews and forum comments to find out about the brand’s reputation.
Purchasing online is common. If we do venture into a retail store to make the purchase, by the time we do, we’re at the end of the buying process – as long as we like what we see (and the salesperson) we’re good to go.
Service businesses
It’s similar for service based businesses. It doesn’t matter whether we’re seeking a graphic designer, a catering company, or a lawyer – the likelihood is that we’ll use the Internet to research possibilities and create a short list before we reach for the phone.
By the time we do make that call, we’ve checked out the company’s website, and quite possibly looked at their blog, Facebook page and LinkedIn profile.
Other online references may also have captured our attention. This information firms up our impression of the business or individual professional as competent or incompetent, credible or dodgy, ordinary or extraordinary.
By the time we make contact, we’ve already formed a favourable impression and are not far away from making a buying decision.
What does this mean for your business?
• Your overall online presence is vital. In many cases it will be your only opportunity to make a good impression on a prospective client.
• Your salespeople now have less influence at the early stages of the buying process – a different approach is needed.
• A useful product or service, or a competitive price isn’t enough to make your business stand out. As sales speaker John Lees says, you need to sell what your prospective customers crave - success or progress.
• If you’re in the B2B space, you’ll have to work much harder. Your success is likely to depend on your ability to provide tailored, creative and innovate solutions that can help clients achieve their long term goals.
All of that will be good news if your website is prominent in search results and you already offer impressive solutions to prospective clients – in this new environment, the time frame from enquiry to sale can be reduced, and conversion rates improved.
The selling environment for businesses has changed forever. Creativity and innovation will be essential for a business to grow and prosper in this new setting.
If these issues are of interest to you as a business owner or manager, why not come along to one of the Chamber’s March events focussed on innovation and growth? You’ll findevent details and booking options on the Events Page at www.sydneyhillsbusiness.com.au.
