Business owners and managers know that confused potential customers often don’t become customers at all. Confusion is the enemy of a sure sale, and in fact the main challenge of ensuring a sale is to dispel all confusion.
Buyers want to be sure. They want to be certain that they’ve made the right choice regarding the item or service they get. They want to be sure they’re picking the best brand and model. They want to be sure that they’re paying the best price for it.
In addition, the buying process also has to be clear. They should know what the item will cost, and what item (or items if you have a bundle) will be included. They will also want to know when they will receive it, and if they have to assemble it once it arrives.
So what can you do to avoid confusion? Here are some helpful tips.
For the sake of this discussion, let’s assume you’re trying to sell a treadmill. Here’s what you need to do:
- Don’t give too little information. You can’t just say that your treadmill will give them stronger legs. Tell them how. Better yet, show them with videos on how the machine should be used.
- Don’t give too much information. This means you don’t overwhelm the buyer on the smallest details of how muscles are formed, while you also provide a long history about muscle-building exercise machines. Avoid using jargon too, as that’s just going to be so confusing.
- Give them fewer choices and options. Just feature one machine on a seller’s page, in case you’re selling a lineup of different exercise machines. Extol the virtues of that machine and don’t mention the other options. You want to make it seem like this is the only sensible choice they can make.
Also, don’t force customers to pick out too many options (size, colour, which attachments are included, etc.) before they buy. Time is the enemy. The more time the customer has to think over the sale, the more likely it is that they’ll delay and see if they have better choices elsewhere.
- Make sure they know the price. Most buyers want to know for sure how much they will have to pay. If the price isn’t indicated clearly, then they can’t be certain. Plus, they may become uncertain of the trustworthiness of your brand. Why are you trying to hide the price?
- Make it clear what they need to do. If possible, enable them to complete a sale with just one click. Basically, you want them to click as few buttons as possible. You want them to be very sure of what buttons to click and what info to provide.
What you have to understand is that there’s an inherent seed of doubt that can come into being when a customer is thinking of buying. After all, you’re asking them to part with their money. What you need to do is to make them feel excited and fantastic about doing that, which isn’t always easy.
Strive to avoid confusing your customer as much as possible. Confusion leads to doubt, doubt leads to delays, and delays lead to a botched sale. Encourage certainty instead and you’ll find more customers buying from you.
