Do you ever think about why people buy the things they buy? We mean beyond the fact that you have great products that customers want. Let’s talk about buyer motivation, also known as buying motive, and how you can use it to boost sales.

What is Buyer Motivation?

It’s a combination of people’s emotional and rational needs that drive their urge to buy things. Understanding buyer motivation will quite literally make or break your business.

Motivation can come from a variety of places, both internally and externally. Internal motivation tends to be more about what our wants and needs are. It guides us to an ending that’s rewarding to us. Like someone buying a cute tote bag because it made them smile.

External motivation is all about outside factors. It’s not as fun but is a necessity. Like the need to get new lightbulbs because all the ones in your house have gone out.

There’s also the belief that a buyer’s motivation can be broken down by product or brand. Meaning when customers are looking for a specific product, like a hoodie, they will buy based on which one they like.

Brand motivation is where positive interactions with your customers come in handy. A customer could be looking for a hoodie, but they narrowed down their choices because they want to buy from your brand.

Three Phases of the Buyer’s Journey

Depending on who you talk to, the number of phases in the buyer’s journey can change. The main three are:

1. Awareness

This phase is exactly what it sounds like. It’s when a buyer becomes aware of something they want, need, or a problem to fix.

It can be something as simple as needing a new mug because their favorite broke, to something as serious as needing a new car part.

This is where your campaigns can catch a buyer’s attention and lead them to you.

2. Consideration

Consideration is the phase where a buyer starts looking around to solve their want, need, or problem. They look for information like reviews, product details, and a business’s reputation to see if they want to buy from them.

3. Decision

Pretty self-explanatory, this is when they make their choice and buy the product.

How to Use Buyer Motivation to Sell

You now know the why and how of peoples’ motivation to buy a product, now what? You use this knowledge to sell!

Look at what your most popular products are, can you figure out why they are popular? Is it because you have a cute design on a mug fulfilling a want and a need? Is it because you have great customer service?

What could you improve upon? Maybe you only have one type of product, and now realize you need to expand. Are you not interacting with your customers enough through your campaigns?

If you need any more help check out our Academy and the first lesson called Getting Started.

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