When you go online and start to do your purchase research you’re bombarded with sites wanting to give you quotes, have you call them, fill out forms, etc. They want you to make your decision right now and buy from them right now.
This is mainly because many lead-management programs make the mistake of treating all prospects as if they’re ready to make a purchase right now. The following marketing strategy helps you give the researcher what he/she wants while still trying to make a sell:
Give them more than you take from them. Prospects need a reason and benefit to share their goals and needs with you. They also need some assurance that their information will not be used ‘for evil. If you have multiple product options build a decision wizard that lets the prospect enter information and the wizard shows the best product for their situation.
Tailor your communications for each prospect. Make it clear that you’re responding to a specific question or action. Look at Amazon recommendations as a best practice, where each recommendation can be traced back to a specific past behavior of that customer. Amazon obviously paid a lot of money for that capability but there are other things that can be done to help personalize the prospects experience.
Establish yourself as an impartial intermediary. You’re here to help the prospect make the best possible purchase. And sharing third party feedback on your product or service—even if it isn’t entirely positive—might actually enhance your credibility. Show a comparison table that lists other competitors and your product (they’re already doing that you might as well give them your information first). Don’t make it out that your product wins every category. Make it an impartial comparison they will trust you more for it.
The Po!nt: You’ll earn the most goodwill (and, potentially, close the biggest sales) if you give a prospect exactly what he/she wants during the research process. Always keep a way for the prospect to act now but don’t make that the only option. Research comes before purchase.