Going Back To Basics: Part 2

"Something about your product or your service needs to be so appealing, that it stops your target consumers in their tracks and they want to engage with you."

If there's nothing else you remember from today, remember this - usually, when shoppers or consumers go shopping, they are in default mode and it takes a disruption to bring them out of that state to notice something outside of their regular choices.

We'd use a fictitious woman called Abena. Let's say she is in her early thirties and lives in Johannesburg. Like myself, Abena absolutely loves Basmati Rice. She has a repertoire of brands of Basmati Rice that she usually purchases and even thought she has never actually purchased some of those brands, they are registered in her mind and come up as soon as she thinks of Basmati Rice.

What does this mean for us? It means that as soon as Abena puts Basmati Rice on her shopping list and heads into the supermarket, her brain is programmed to scan the shelves for those brands that she is used to. Once she sees a brand she's familiar with, she picks up the product, pays for it and leaves. End of Shopping Trip.

Consciously, Abena may not realise that is what she is doing - it is all done subconsciously by the brain. Research has shown that on average, the brain makes about 2,000 decisions every hour! That is a LOT of decisions to be made... So to make its life easier, the brain automates certain decisions, such as the brand of rice to buy or the default route you take home each day from work or the first thing you take off when you enter your room.

"So many of us live our lives on autopilot. We wake up, go to work, have dinner, go to sleep... repeat"

That quote by Jesse Itzler is so apt - this is how a number of us live our lives... Going with the flow of what we're used to and it also applies to how we shop and the things we purchase.

This default analogy applies to every, single industry! It applies to both products and services. Everyone uses what they are familiar with and this is why distribution and physical availability (which I spoke about HERE) is really important. You must be as easy to see and as easy to buy as possible.

So what will make Abena leave her brand of Basmati Rice and even notice your own brand of rice on the shelf? Or better still - what will make Abena leave the category she came to shop and notice you who may be playing in a completely different category?

First, you need to be able to INTERRUPT Abena's typical shopping routine. You must be visible and distinctive in such a manner that you draw her eyes to you naturally. You usually have less than 5 seconds to make an impression, so how will you use those 5 seconds? This is the same for humans actually - most people make a decision about people they meet within 7 seconds of meeting them and I teach all about this in The Esther Curriculum, but I digress. :)

What are some of the ways you can interrupt Abena's shopping routine? By being distinctive on the shelf - either with how you are merchandised or how you are packaged. The same thing applies to services - your "shelf" may be your online space so the question is how are you different from every other thing we see online? What makes you distinctive?

Let us assume, you looked really snazzy on the shelf and Abena decided to stop and take a look at what you're offering. You can't relax yet because she hasn't picked you up yet. So step two is you need to HOLD her attention! You don't want her to look at you, say 'oh nice' and move on. You want to keep her with you for a little while longer so she sees what you can do for her and is one step closer to deciding to try you out.

What are some of the ways you can hold her attention? You can hold her with a compelling offer or you can also hold her through demonstration of how that product or service works (think video content for services). This needs to be presented in a visually appealing and engaging manner to keep her with you.

Then finally, step three us for you to LAND the sale - and this is where you get Abena to not only put you in her basket but take you to the counter and swipe her card to buy you. :)

"INTERRUPT --->> HOLD --->> LAND"

It's a pretty simple process and when used consistently can get you some great results.

Some questions you can ask yourself as you think of how to interrupt, hold and land your target audience:

• How does my packaging look? Is it attractive? Is it clear what product or service I am offering? Can people read what is on my packaging (or flyer!) without having to squint or use a magnifying glass?
• Am I at the right price point considering my competitive set or industry? Am I clear on my pricing strategy? If you're a completely new entrant to the market, what strategy are you adopting? Is it justifiable?
• Is the value you are offering clear immediately? The average attention span is short - people want to know, almost immediately, what problem you can solve for them. Is the value proven?
• If you are selling a physical product, are you positioned in the right part of the store? There are some things to think about - you can decide to be placed with the same category, so if you are rice, you'd be placed in the Rice Category or you can also decide to be placed in a complementary category, so if you are Crackers, you can decide to be placed in the Cheese Category because a number of people eat Crackers with Cheese. Some stores have a semi-cold section where they merchandise Crackers, various type of Cheese, Olives and Wine together - because that makes for a great selection to serve your guests.
• Design your consumer experience journey and put yourself in the shoes of the consumer or the shopper. You can test this journey on others so you get real-time, honest feedback.

I hope this was helpful to you and I am excited to see how you will implement this in your business.

Until next time,

B.T