“Finding the Right Customer: Motivation is key.”

Companies and merchants are keenly interested in customer satisfaction and repeat business. The marketing budget to drive a level of business and acquire new customers can be high; you want to be sure that the customer you acquire is highly motivated to buy from your company.

Taking time to discover what motivates prospective (and existing) customers to buy from you is crucial to “Finding the Right Customer”. The right customer is one who will purchase, tell others about their experience, and repeat their business with you over an extended period of time.

But, what if you are a local, smaller merchant competing against the ‘big box’ (chain) stores. How can you seize a buyer’s motivation to purchase from you? Here’s an example of where comparable product, price, and service may not be enough. In many cases, the chain stores make an effort to have lower prices and a larger selection (remember the movie: “You’ve Got Mail”?), which becomes the buyer’s motivation to buy from the larger retailer.

I came across a program called "Raleigh Un-Chained”. The local merchants banded together under the umbrella of the “Raleigh (NC) Independent Business Alliance”. Together as a group, they are offering consumers the opportunity to save money and shop locally (the independent merchants). They charge a nominal fee ($25) for a membership card, and offer a range of discounts and promotions to the consumer.

They have made the argument that by shopping locally, you put as much as 45% of the money back into the community vs. 13% from the “chain stores” to support local schools, parks, roads, and services. They have discovered that a customer can be motivated (to buy from them) by the idea that a commitment to the local merchant(s) benefits the community.

Here are some other clear signs that they did their (discovery) homework. They came up with a clever name for the program and embarked on a good grassroots effort to get the word out (handy brochures at each merchant and other Press and PR). You can buy the membership cards through the merchants, too (ease of membership). They call their supporters “Unchained citizens” (recognizes the uniqueness of the buyer and develops them as a group). This all drives emotion that translates into a motivated buyer. And, as a byproduct, they created a ‘loyalty’ (loyal, repeat customers) program, too.

Motivation can be more than just an emotional or passionate response. It can also be the realization to overcome a burden at work. When I recorded this audio tip, as a featured expert at PreFlight PowerTips™, I demonstrated how we realized that longer battery life would extend the amount of time one person (employee) could work during their ‘shift’. This translated into saving both time and money; it also relieved a burden on the part of the employee. This motivated the prospective customer to consider a completely new product offering (no prior track record).

What becomes important in these examples is the need to discover the motivation of the buyer before you offer your product or service. Failing to do so could force you to spend time and money chasing business that may not serve your long-term needs. “Don’t sacrifice long-term objectives for short-term results.”

Or, you could be like the Stihl company and focus your appeal to those who recognize the quality of their products cannot be sold through the ‘big box’ (chain) stores. Stihl’s renowned quality, performance, product innovation, and support is best realized (as a customer) through specialty retailers. Their sales results prove they understand their customers’ motivation and show support for their dedicated group of dealers and independent retailers.

Resources: For more information on National programs like Raleigh’s RIBA program, visit The American Independent Business Alliance Web site.