As sellers, there is nothing better than understanding our customers. Our goal is to get them to commit to our brand and, in the end, purchases will come automatically with the use of the product.
If users have a positive experience with our brand, they are more likely to become loyal customers who will make purchases again and again and share the experience with their friends.
Getting inside the consumer's head is the first step in marketing our brand. To do this, it is essential to see how consumers interact with the product, both in stores and at home. There are many methods to gather this information, however one of the most revealing is: the point of influence.
The power of Influence Points:
The point of influence is the exact moment when a consumer is interacting with a product or when a shopper is predisposed to make a purchase. Whether it’s during a test drive of a new vehicle or the moment when they decide to enter a store at the mall, the point of influence is a brand’s best opportunity to positively impact the customer.
Some creative brands use these leverage points to gain more customers. Here are some examples of how successful brands influence their consumers:
Smell : Starbucks makes sure to greet visitors with a rich, delightful panama phone number of coffee beans while they shop.
Sound : Bose hosts meetings in surround sound rooms to help potential customers experience the power of its products' sound capabilities.
Touch: Apple Stores have come to master the influence of touch, providing a unique environment allowing consumers to interact with products.
In each of these examples, brands are creating leverage points for their potential customers.
Traditional research methods fall short
While brands invest heavily in creating a great sensory experience for consumers, they often fall short in collecting and analyzing real-time data , gathering information weeks after the customer’s interaction with the product. Even if a consumer has had a great experience with a brand, but the time lag between the initial interaction and evaluation is too long, the memory of the experience can be lost.
Historically, two of the most common methods for gathering information about consumer experience with a product or brand have been surveys and focus groups.
Unfortunately, both of these methods rely heavily on consumers' memories, which are typically very different from their original feelings at the point of influence. In retrospect, the most common methods of collecting consumer opinion have proven to be inefficient, here are a few examples:
Memories omit unique details of the consumer experience. After a couple of weeks of interacting with the brand, no consumer is going to remember all the little details that made a difference at the point of influence.