What are some examples of marketing strategies that businesses use to persuade customers to purchase?

(Last Updated On: May 30, 2022)

How do you convince a customer that your product is the best to buy?

Ever wondered why you go online and buy things that you don’t absolutely require? The secret lies in how they sell it to you.

It’s a material world and when you learn the art of selling, you’ll get more customers. And, that is what many business fail to have. Having a good product is not enough to sell more. Just like a salesperson is needed to persuade customers in a physical shop, you need means to convince leads on your online store.

Here are a few tips on how to convince customers to buy your product or service online.

1. Focus on the benefits and not on the feature of the product

Customers buy a product because it benefits them in a certain way. Just stating the features of the product doesn’t make the customer buy the product.

Christensen’s theory of job explains this behaviour elaborately. It talks about how a customer looks for their ‘job to be done in a product. A customer doesn’t mind paying a big amount if the product gets the job done for them. They rarely buy what the company thinks it’s selling. 

For example: Instead of saying that the pen has a felt tip, you could say it has a better grip. This will highlight the benefit for the customer and convince customers to buy it.

2. Tell them as much as you can

How would you feel if you suddenly had to pay extra delivery charges for that t-shirt you bought online?

Don’t keep the customer in the dark. It is necessary to provide them with all the information to convince customers to buy from you. You can do that by informing them about:

Terms and conditions – Tell the customers about the conditions that apply when they make a purchase or use your service. Make them simple, understandable and precise. Divide into various sections to make it customer-friendly.

Privacy policy –  Privacy policy is essential because, in today’s digital age, customers are protective of their private information. A properly specified privacy policy will make your customers trust your company and might increase sales too!

Shipping policy – Make the shipping policy clear and detailed, without any hidden costs. State whether international shipping is available too. Also, reward the customers with free shipping if they have shopped for a particular amount.

FAQ – Most customers request FAQs because they don’t want to call someone for the service. FAQs make yours as well your customer’s life easier.

3. Make use of FOMO

How many times have you bought something just because you didn’t want to miss out on the trend?

Research has shown that fear of missing out (FOMO) is a big reason for purchases, especially impulsive ones. Depending on the nature of your product or service, you can successfully leverage FOMO to convince a customer to make a purchase.

Simply put, communicate to your customer what they will be missing out if they don’t make a purchase now. Emphasise more on the ‘trendiness’ of the product rather than just the qualities.

The FOMO technique works well for product categories like clothes, accessories, and services such as events and webinars.

Pro tip: Use social media to drive FOMO for your product

4. Avoid jargon

Your product doesn’t need to sound smart for your audience to impress them. Eliminate the use of technical words and cliches. Instead, highlight your benefits in simple language of your target audience.

Pro tip: Read product reviews. Customers almost never uses jargon when talking or writing about your products.

5. Highlight your USP

The unique selling proposition (USP) of your product is that one feature that sets you apart from competitors.

Focus on a feature of your product that is different from your competitors. Highlight the feature that provides an advantage to the customer. You will convince customers to buy your product when you offer a feature that makes their life easier.

Your USP can be from any aspect of your product: how it’s made, raw materials, durability, affordability, etc.

Pro tip: Never mention generic features as your USP such as “high quality”or “lasts long”

6. Focus on a target audience

Instead of focusing on the entire population, narrow down your target market to a specific niche. This will help you to focus on your audience to whom you want to sell your product and those that are most likely to buy your product.

For example, if you make handmade products, focus on who the products will benefit most instead of everyone. Happily Ever Laughter, an Instamojo online store, sells merchandise to a very niche audience: armed forces community.

Similarly, you can also find a target audience that best suits your business.

Here’s a blog on how to manage customers online as suggested by eCommerce business owners like you.

7. Give your customer options (but not too many)

To convince customers to buy your products, let them have a few options to choose from. This can be in terms of pricing or a variety of products. As an example, consider the Instamojo pricing page:

A customer looking to get an online store can choose an option that fits their business needs. This helps because each customer is unique and have different needs.

But, at the same time, be careful to not overwhelm the customer with options.

Pro tip: Do not push or convince towards any of the choices. This way, you are sending a signal to your potential customer that their opinion matters.

Want to know more about Instamojo online stores? Check out how you can grow your eCommerce business with Instamojo.

8. Product reviews and testimonials

There’s nothing more convincing for a customer than reviews. In fact, a study shows that sales on eCommerce sites can increase upto 270% if reviews are available. So, make sure you collect reviews from your customers and build customer trust.

Along with reviews, you can also collect customer feedback. This will enable you to understand what pain points your product solved for the customer and use this information to convert future customers.

9. Create content around your products

Convincing customers to buy your products online is a whole different game, especially in this information era.

People want to know things and be entertained for free. If you can leverage this content need of your target audience and attract them, you can easily convince them to buy from you and make more sales. This technique is called content marketing.

For example, if you have an organic skincare business, you can create content on how mainstream skincare products are harmful and how this problem can be overcome with your products.

As a small business, you can start creating content on social media platforms like Instagram. Here’s a list of Instagram post ideas for businesses to get your creative juices flowing.

10. Branding

Building a brand is a time taking process. It could also be an expensive affair. But branding has a greater recall and therefore more people tend to buy from a familiar, friendlier, and popular name.

At Instamojo we help small businesses gain visibility and improve their customer base.  Start selling online at no cost with the free online store on Instamojo. Promote, sell and get discovered with Instamojo.

You can get started with your online business in under two minutes!

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