Helping Customers

Make the Right Choice

Marketing Education, CSC Academy
ISB-SRITNE & CSC e-Governance Services
February 2019
Module Objectives
• Understanding how customers make choice
• Unfolding how customers choose a product
• Learning about influencing customers’ choice
Choice making Process

Need Gathering
Choice
recognition Information
 Choice making by different customers

Customer Type Ideal Promising Difficult

Value-based, clear, a good Basic, not sophisticated, Subject to change, uncertain,
Buying criteria
match with your offerings workable price focused
Business issues Pressing and relevant Emerging Crisis prone
Decision Quick Reasonable Prolonged
Budget Available now Later Questionable
Decision authority One or two people at most Consensus/committee Not formalized or uncertain

Knowledgeable, open to new
ideas, honest, moves quickly
Customer qualities
to finalize agreement,
accommodates your needs
New in job or field, just Slow response, new boss,
forming opinions, welcomes not flexible, always wants
suggestions, relies on multiple vendor submissions,
colleagues procrastinator, price shopper

Pursue (work toward an Avoid (or make only one

What to do Develop (keep in touch with)
agreement) standard offer)
Influencing Customer Choice
• Act as a resource to the customer
• Understand what customer needs are
• Educate them about the product
• Be Consistent
• Ask customers for purchase decision
• Sell solutions required for the need
• Sell features for low involvement products (e.g., soap)
• Sell benefits for high involvement products (e.g., car)
• Sell solutions for business needs (e.g., an IT solution)
Different Ways to Sell

Clerk Salesperson Consultant

Sells features Sells needs/benefits Sells system solutions

Takes the order Asks for the order Creates the order

Wants to make the sale Wants the next sale Wants the relationship

Contact is purchasing
Contact is department head Contact is executive
department
Customer concern is
Customer concern is price Customer concern is profit
performance
Influencing Customer Choice
• Don’t overwhelm customers with options
• Make customers feel that they are in control
• Use multi-attribute decision making
• Don’t differentiate when not needed
• Keep it simple
• Previous experiences matter
• Target subliminal perception
• Prime with messages that enhance purchase possibility
• Share positive reviews to validate their choices
• Anchor with positive message
• Use fear of missing out
Prevent Choice Overload
• Recommendations
• Increases customer engagement
• Opportunities for cross-selling and upselling
• Quizzes
• Creates entertaining micro-interactions with shareable
results
• Increases brand awareness and recognition
• Recommends individually-tailored products based on
quiz
• Online Reviews
Post-Choice Making
• Make customer feel happy about their purchase
decision
• Minimize their efforts
• Make them “feel good”
• Make them feel special
• Recognition
• Keeping in touch
• Special Occasions
• Communicate with them on multiple platforms
In Your Own Business
• Understand factors that influence customer
choices: It will vary for different types of products
and different types of customers

• Provide service pre, during, and post purchase

• Reach to the customer through different channels

and sources

• Target customers’ emotions