As a small business, you need every edge you can get to help your business perform well. You already have your product or service down, and you know that you have to deliver top class service if you want your business to do well. But once you have those things down, is there some hack you can use to get people to buy? How do you get them to make the final purchasing decision? You can learn from large companies like Groupon and use shopper’s psychology.

The great news is you don’t need a huge budget to take advantage of this “hack.” All you need is a willingness to learn how your clients and potential clients think, and how they are likely to react in different circumstances.

Once you understand the basic principles behind shopper’s psychology, you are on your way. In the infographic below, there are some excellent general tips to get you started.

Who Is My Target Market?

Here you need to get as specific as possible. Define the market as exactly as you can – the more specific you are at this stage, the better you will be able to understand shoppers’ motivations.

It’s not enough to say something like moms. Drill it down even more – soccer moms are short on time because they need to fetch their kids from school and run errands, for example.

What characteristics best describe your target market? Who would your ideal customer be?

What Drives My Target Market?

What motivates your target market? What do they need? A busy soccer mom who is rushed off her feet is not going to have the time to spend hours in a store. Online shopping would provide a good alternative for her, but would she have time to wait around for delivery?

If you could solve this issue for her, she would be a lot more likely to become a regular customer. So, for example, perhaps you could set up a firm delivery time and then stick to it religiously. An alternative would be to order online and collect the goods in store. Anything that you can do to save this mom time is likely to be valuable to her because time is what she is short of the most.

A teenager, on the other hand, is bound to have a lot more free time. For them, the issue might be more that they need a time waster more than a time saver. Maybe they are looking for somewhere to hang out with their friends, for example, so having an area that they can hang out in might work well.

The way you would approach the two different types of customers would have to be very different if you wanted to improve the chances of them buying.

Why Would They Buy Your Product or Service?

What is the main motivation for them when it comes to buying your product or service? For the soccer mom, maybe it is saving time, or an attractive Groupon discount that will get them a better deal. For the teenager, it might be to look cool. If you know why they might buy your product, you can come up with marketing cues to remind them why they need to get the item or use your service.

The point, in general, is to understand your client better. That way, you will know exactly what will entice them to buy and how to subtly influence their decision. Using shopper’s psychology is clever marketing – it is about priming your shopper mentally to buy.

 

Psychology of Shoppers for Small Business Infographic