100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

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154 • 100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS


willingness to fi nd out more, to a passionate need to explore
the offer. Whatever the customer’s motives or situation, the
information needs to be clear, useful, and specifi c. Inevitably, the
market size will have shrunk as some “aware” customers fail to
pick up the information, through either choice or circumstance.


  1. Help customers prioritize. Customers weigh up the benefi ts
    and then prioritize their expenditure. For example, they may
    consider whether this is something they want to buy now, at
    this price, and in this form. They may also evaluate alternatives.
    Clearly, some people will not make the move from having the
    information to making a purchase.

  2. Help customers purchase. Having decided to buy, the next step for
    the customer is to complete the transaction. It is important to
    enable the buyer to move as easily as possible through the process.
    Purchasing should be easy and satisfactory—even enjoyable.

  3. Support the customer’s use of the product. This is a stage that is
    often forgotten, hidden in the shadow of the purchase. A sale is
    not the end of the process, because customers have to use and
    value their purchase. If they don’t, then the product may be
    returned, customers may stay away in future, and the resultant
    poor publicity and a declining reputation are likely to adversely
    affect future sales.

  4. Promote reuse. This is when the product or service (or one of its
    components) is bought again. This generates additional revenue
    at a higher margin (without the cost of customer acquisition)
    and highlights customer loyalty to the product, resulting in a
    stronger sales process.

  5. Encourage advocacy. This stage is highly prized by sellers: it
    occurs when customers are so impressed with their purchase
    that they tell others about it (Harley-Davidson is an excellent
    example of this). Advocacy increases awareness of the product or
    business and feeds back to the fi rst stage of the process.

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