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Subject: Sidebar 2- The Right Conditions For Profitability & General Buying Criteria

Author: Dennis S. Vogel

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 16:42:11 06/30/07 Sat In reply to: Dennis S. Vogel 's message, "Profitably Linking Your Business, Profession & Purpose Part 1" on 15:37:34 11/26/06 Sun If a for-profit business’s purpose is providing value for customers & its owners, it can only do it optimally under the right conditions. Business owners often forget these general conditions, they just want somebody to buy something & wonder why it doesn’t happen. But they seem to want to blame something more than find a solution. Consumers don’t always consciously think of their buying criteria. They know when they’re comfortable with purchase decisions. Since consumers don’t usually have a formal checklist or evaluation process, they won’t automatically remember why they need something, whom they bought it from & where a vendor is. They won’t always buy enough for a period of time or buy it soon enough to improve/increase benefits & avoid losing/delaying benefits. They won’t always recite things, like those below, during marketing research surveys. Plus, what people claim (or honestly think) they’ll do, is often different when it’s time to spend their (real, not hypothetical) money &/or when they want/need something NOW! (Because that NOW isn’t during a survey. Stuff happens between forming intentions & implementation.) What people want/demand from products/services varies depending on the category, situation, time, etc. This list isn’t all-inclusive or complete, & some of these don’t apply to every product/service. In general, these are what matter when people are risking their money, reputations, health, time, effort or other things they value. Each product/service offer has buying criteria in addition to general buying criteria. NOTE- ROI should be return of & on investment. It should also be a result of investment. Example- If I want to save money (benefit) as a result of a tune-up of my car’s engine, I’d expect to spend less on fuel after it. I’d expect to save an amount of money equal to the price of the tune-up (return of investment), then I’d expect to keep saving money for at least 2 years (return on investment). If the price of fuel is lower next month, I’d save money but it wouldn’t be as a result of my investment. A result of investment would be buying fuel less often even if I use my car just as much as I did before the tune-up. Spending less for fuel should be more than a coincidence of lower prices. There’s no return of or on investment if the value of the result of investment ends before I get what I figure I’ve paid for. If I feel a $24 shirt should last at least 1 year & it’s worn out after 10 months, I’ll feel I was cheated $4. Then the $24 price I paid negated the $20 value I got. Consumers won’t usually amortize purchases like this, but they usually make subconscious evaluations. You can use some of these criteria to evaluate suppliers, so you’ll get merchandise that won’t frustrate customers or you. * Products/Services providing a result/benefit, they (a significant market niche) value. - Prices that don’t negate the value. - Durability providing adequate ROI. - Easy to understand, assemble (if applicable) & use. - Little or no risk (sufficient guarantee/warranty). - Easy to return, replace or get repaired, especially in the warranty period. - Durable (if practical) & long shelf life, so reorders/repurchases aren’t frequent. * Pleasant & convenient buying conditions. - Easy to find. - Easy to order/purchase. - Easy to find again. - Easy to reorder/repurchase. * Memorable. - Easy to remember the benefits & how to use. - Good feelings of purchasing & using. - Easy to remember & find vendor again. * Privacy (It makes customer database marketing harder, but still possible & profitable). - Buy anonymously without being recognized or embarrassed. - No record of their purchase. - No requirement for identification or personal information. - No account numbers to remember, record or potentially be stolen. If you show you’re careful with personal information & state legitimate (in customers’ opinions) reasons for getting & keeping their personal information, some will tell you things they think will help you serve them. It also depends if it’s something they’re sensitive about. Some women won’t buy feminine hygiene products, if a man is nearby. Though, if a man doesn’t know what they are, there’s no cause for embarrassment. If a man knows what they are & what they’re used for, there’s no cause for embarrassment. Still, don’t expect women to want you to record how much & how often they buy feminine hygiene products. Some men won’t talk to doctors about some dysfunctions, even if they’ve trusted the doctors for years. What’s Earned Here Stays Here I agree with appeals to get people to buy from locally based retailers because local retailers employ local people & pay local taxes. But small retailers will suffer if they think those appeals are compelling enough to get a majority to buy from them. Local shopping appeals aren’t offers; but they’re good in addition to compelling offers. It goes back to WIIFM—what’s in it for me? There’s not enough IN IT FOR them to immediately benefit from local shopping. Plus, spending money in other cities or paying money that stops briefly in Bentonville, AR before flying to Communist China, doesn’t immediately hurt them. They’re glad when they save money for low-quality, potentially tainted products that don’t immediately break or kill them. Dennis S. Vogel thrivingbusiness@email.com The difference between profitability & failure can be making conditions right for customers. It’s easier & less expensive to change yourself & your business, so make it easier to succeed. I’ve made it easier for you to succeed by producing free & convenient information & methods to strength your business. Help yourself to that information & those methods by using these URLs. http://www.voy.com/31049/ http://www.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Part 7 Tying This Together	Dennis S. Vogel	23:30:24 08/11/07 Sat