Have you ever paused to consider why your customers choose your products over the closest competitor? If you really think about it, what sets your products apart? In many respects, they’re exactly the same. In order to understand your business better, you must understand your target customers and why they are or aren’t choosing your products. There are product factors and non-product factors that affect the decision of customer. Product factors are directly related to the product itself. And non-product factors aren’t directly related to the product itself, but still influence a customer’s decision. Specifically, there are five non-product factors that commonly come into play.
Brand Name of Goods
Brand name and image have a great influence on customers’ purchase decision. That’s why it’s so important to come up with a good company name when launching a brand or product. Using the mop example, would you be more likely to purchase a mop sold by the brand name Pure and Clean Solutions or Products Ltd ? The first evokes strong imagery, and the latter is boring and non-descriptive, so most would choose the first.
Product Placement Is Critical
In the real retail environment, product layout is very important. Obviously, your product is easier for customers to see in the traffic area of store than in the corner of the bottom shelf. For the e-commerce enterprises, the product layout looks a little different. If you sell on amazon.com, the best placement is on the front page or sidebar. Obviously, you are more likely to get sales in a prominent front position.
Good Reputation
In this era, establishing a good reputation will attract more customers. Your customers’ comments can help you sell more or drive out business. If you can build a positive brand reputation in the market, you can influence customers’ purchase decisions more frequently. When customers see your products, they will choose yours over your competitors. In many cases, a good reputation can even make up for deficiencies in other areas.
Rational pricing
It is very important to price products reasonably according to their market positioning. It shows how sensitive your target market to price. In some industries, price is the primary non-product factor. For example, a customer buying a mop can be very sensitive of price. There are two mops have the similar quality, one mop is $18 and the other is $38, customers are likely to choose the cheaper one.
We all know that a product’s success depends on a multitude factors. But these four non-product factors are crucial and will directly affect customers’ choice. Once you can use them flexibly, you will get more customers.