Writing For The Buying Decision

When it comes to how people make buying decisions, there's one important thing to remember:  People rationalize buying decisions based on facts.  But people make buying decisions based on feelings.  Emotions are involved in every decision we make. So no matter how good your website or article copy, to get buyers to make a decision, you must make them see the benefits of your product or service from their point of view.

This often takes more than one visit to your website.  While some people may buy on the spot, many larger purchases require a longer period of time to process the information.  No matter how long the process takes, the buying decision starts when people become aware of a need.  Here's a recap of the buying process:

• Buyers identify a need for a service or product.
• They start researching for information about about that need, usually on the web.
• They evaluate information.  This may take more than one visit to your site.
• They make a decision to purchase.
• They either purchase the item or put it on hold.
• They re-evaluate their decision to rationalize their actions.

Online sales would be easy if it were just a matter of driving traffic to your site.  But the mental process of the buying decision is obviously more complex than that.

How long it takes to convert a shopper to a buyer depends on the complexity of the need their are trying to address.  If their needs are simple, all you have to do it make the prospects aware of you, build confidence, differentiate yourself, and demonstrate the value or benefit of your product for them in particular.  The decision time is obviously faster for lower end items - say a video. 

If your selling a car - the decision will take longer and result in more visits to your site to compare products.  To accomplish a sale, you must not only speak  to their needs, but write in ways that appeal to their emotions.  Let them imagine themselves in the vehicle.  Often if they can't grasp an emotional image, they can't make the buying decision.

As always, it all comes down to writing as if you're speaking to them directly to address their needs and convincing them that the benefits of your product will best suit those needs.