How do you convince a customer to buy? What makes them choose one product or brand over another? How do you get them to spend more on each purchase?
These are some of the many questions that businesses with a physical shop or an online shop ask themselves when they are creating their sales strategies, and for which they don't always get an answer or the most appropriate response, being a delicate issue that ends up having a profound impact on the success of their business.
Purchasing process and its stages
Over the next few lines, we'll introduce you to the 5 stages of the customer purchasing decision process, which will help you devise winning sales strategies that add value for you and your potential customers.
What is the purchasing decision process?
The customer purchasing decision process is a journey that begins with the recognition of a need, continues with the search for a suitable solution and culminates in the purchase of the product or service that satisfies that need.
This process is commonly referred to as the 'sales funnel'. To attract consumers to your business and convert them into customers, it's essential that the buying journey is simple and adapted to their needs and preferences.
However, to achieve this goal, it is crucial to understand the 5 stages of the customer purchasing decision process.
The 5 stages of the purchasing decision process
Whether in the online or physical world, businesses must take these five stages of the purchasing decision-making process into account:
Stage 1: discovering the need
The basic rule of any winning marketing strategy is to help the consumer identify a need.
If all goes well, this will awaken a need in the consumer for a specific product or service, who will then set out to find the company that can fulfil it.
Stage 2: recognising the need
After marketing or, as a result of some problem that has arisen, helping to create the idea of a need in the potential client's head, it's time to recognise the problem that will lead to the next step: research.
Stage 3: search for solutions
With a need in hand, the customer will start looking for a solution. At this stage, they will research and compare prices, products/services, potential benefits or recommendations, among other things.
However, in order to make the whole search process easier, for example, the content and positioning of an online shop should be worked on using SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) techniques that help your product or service rank in the top positions of the search engine and gain visibility.
Stage 4: the decision
Once the comparisons have been made and the recommendations consulted, it's time for the customer to decide on one of the solutions they've researched.
In order for your business to stand out from the rest, it's important to provide customer service hotlines, as well as having relevant content on your website at the time of the purchase decision, such as frequently asked questions, highlighting the potential of the product and how it can solve the customer's problem, or if it's a physical shop, content on your social networks, with testimonials from other customers and shopping experiences.
Stage 5: finalising the purchase and after-sales service
Once the product/service has been chosen, the customer goes to the checkoutThis means finalising the purchase process with payment.
At this point, it is important for the customer to find payment methods that suit their needs and habits.
In the case of online paymentsREDUNIQ offers solutions to meet the specific needs of your digital business: REDUNIQ E-Commerce e REDUNIQ@Payments.
- O REDUNIQ E-Commerce allows your online shop to receive online payments with debit and credit cards, Visa and Mastercard, from customers all over the world, by MB WAY and generate Multibanco references, with the greatest security and convenience for your customers and for you.
- O REDUNIQ@Payments which is aimed specifically at businesses that sell online without a website (via social networks or marketplaces), is the turnkey solution that will allow you to receive online payments by Visa and Mastercard, via email, SMS, WhatsApp, Multibanco reference or MB WAY, without having to worry about membership costs, fixed costs, monthly fees or integration.
On the other hand, in physical shops, it is important that the terminal allows you to accept contactless paymentsThis type of payment accounts for more than 50% of the turnover of Portuguese businesses, which means that more and more consumers are relying on this technology.
To this end, REDUNIQ offers you the TPA REDUNIQ Easy, REDUNIQ Smart e REDUNIQ Soft which, in practice, offer you the possibility of:
- REDUNIQ EasyFor a monthly fee tailored to your business, you can receive a free terminal, with no membership fee or loyalty period, and start accepting "traditional" credit and debit card payments (Visa and Mastercard brands) via PIN, contactless and MB WAY, giving you yet another way to increase your sales and, consequently, your turnover.
- REDUNIQ SmartAndroid automatic payment terminal which, in addition to allowing a physical shop to accept contactless payments with card, chip, MB WAY, Google Pay and Apple Pay, incorporates a set of management apps which will help your business become fully mobile and digital.
- REDUNIQ Soft: this is a NFC payment Android that allows you to turn your mobile phone into a terminal, allowing your business to accept payments quickly and easily by QR Code, NFC or Contactless wherever and whenever you want without the need for a Physical TPA through an App.
After payment, however, it is important that you guarantee a quality after-sales service that generates customer satisfaction and helps your business build loyalty.
