The buyer’s decision process is more complex than ever. Your customers have more options and more ways to research purchases. Buying committees are larger. The process takes longer. As a result, it’s really challenging for sales professionals to navigate this to a successful close.
What can you and your sales team do to keep the sales process on track? This article breaks down the buyer decision-making process and how you can improve your approach.
5 Steps of the Buyer Decision-Making Process
From an outside perspective, it can be tricky to understand the buyer decision process. Let’s take a look at the five stages the average buyer follows.
1. Recognize a Problem
The first stage is recognizing a problem or concern. The customer determines they have a need or issue they want to resolve. At this point, they may have some product ideas. The buyer examines their options and then looks for an answer. That choice leads them to the second stage of the buyer decision process.
2. Search for Information
Stage two is gathering information and researching options. In this stage, the buyer will search on Google, ask colleagues, read reviews, and generally try to find out what companies, products, or services exist that could solve their problem.
3. Evaluate Alternatives
In the evaluation stage, decision-makers compare the alternatives they’ve identified. They see what’s available and look at their choices side-by-side. The buyer determines the criteria by which they will choose the best product for their need.
This step is where the buyer narrows down the consideration list. It’s essential to sell with value. Once they have their options, they move to the next phase of the process.
4. Decide to Purchase
The next stage in the process is the purchase decision. Here, buyers determine what they want to purchase and who they want to buy it from; then, they buy it.
5. Evaluate After Purchase
The last phase of the consumer buying process happens after the buyer has used their purchase. They decide whether they’re satisfied with it and whether it’s solving their problem and meeting their needs.
There are several ways a customer may react at this point: leaving a review, requesting a refund from the company if unsatisfied, recommending the item to others, or re-purchasing the item. The best sales professionals will build loyalty to retain their customers.
What Factors Influence a Buying Decision?
Many factors influence the decision to purchase, but most fall into two categories: objective and subjective. Objective factors include features, price, ease of use, and functionality. Subjective factors include the customer’s relationship with the seller and their feelings about your company based on past experiences.
The best sales professionals use both objective and subjective strategies. You need to deliver a feature set at a fair price and an excellent customer experience. A consultative selling approach that includes asking open-ended questions and active listening is a proven way to uncover a buyer’s objective and subjective factors.
Buying Decision Types
The buyer’s decision-making process differs depending on the product, price, and positioning as well as their personality and purchasing habits. In general, there are four common types of buying decisions.
Complex Buying Decision
B2B buyers frequently spend a great deal of time researching purchases and determining the options available to solve their company’s issues. They consider several factors before buying because it will have a long-term impact on the company.
A bad choice can also affect their status within the company. They must decide what’s best for the company’s unique situation. They will involve a number of stakeholders and look carefully at every option before purchase.
Simple Buying Decision
In some cases, a purchasing decision is much more straightforward. Either the product is one the buyer has bought before, there aren’t many options, it’s a low-stakes investment, or the buyer just prefers to take a simpler route. The simple decision involves fewer choices, fewer stakeholders, and a shorter timeframe.
This decision often occurs with brand-name products or with companies that are well known in the marketplace. Buyers may make this decision to avoid additional costs and time associated with the complex purchase.
Habitual Buying Decision
Many buyers stick with items they are familiar with. Prospective customers use their personal experiences to determine if the product is worth their investment. They may read product reviews from previous customers as well or company ratings on G2 and other sites.
An example of a habitual buying decision is when a prospect has had excellent experiences with the vendor in the past and is willing to bring their business back to them for additional purchases. If you can position yourself as a trusted advisor, you can engage customers who make your products and services into a habit.
Impulsive Buying Decision
This type of decision occurs when a buyer responds to emotional triggers or a sudden hunger or desire for a product. They feel a rush of pleasure after purchasing the item. When customers buy an item without a second thought, they are purchasing impulsively.
People tend to buy things in this way because it makes them happy. They want the product and don’t hesitate. In a world with many unknowns, an impulse buy may bring the buyer joy. Many companies capitalize on the impulsive nature of human beings. If it’s appealing, we can’t help ourselves.
How to Understand the Buying Decision Process
The best way to determine how to sell is to have insight into the mind of an interested buyer. There are several tools that can help you examine the B2B purchase decision process.
Buyer Journey Map
A buyer journey map is a visual way to understand the customer path to purchase. This map shows all the touchpoints and interactions with your company as they proceed through the sales and marketing funnel—every email click, webinar registration, content download, or website visit.
Analyzing multiple customer journeys allows you to create a map of the average path. This shows you the next best action for a typical buyer and how to guide buyers to close. It also allows you to predict the customer decision-making process of an individual for future sales.
Empathy Map
Empathy mapping focuses on your buyer’s thoughts and emotions during the purchase process. While journey maps outline the buyer’s end-to-end experience, empathy maps offer depth, dissecting specific interactions.
An empathy map can help you determine how to best serve your potential buyers. With this tool, you can display your customer’s wants and needs, examine the buyer’s thought process, and determine what’s occurring from every possible point of view.
Buyer Personas
Another critical way to understand your buyers is to create personas. Buyer personas define and clarify what type of person has the highest likelihood of purchasing from your company. This involves researching current customers and crafting fictional representatives of each type of buyer, including their name, age range, title, role, goals, and challenges.
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
An ideal customer profile (ICP) defines the type of buyer likely to benefit most from your product and who is your business’s most lucrative customer. An ICP includes accurate data and firmographics such as company size, annual revenue, number of employees, and industry. Defining your ICP will help you understand the characteristics of a qualified prospect.
Understand Your Buyers to Improve the Sales Process
Understanding the buyer’s decision process is important for sales success and company growth. By using these techniques and strategies, you can analyze your buyer’s decision process to determine how to improve the stages of your sales process from prospecting, positioning, and communication to negotiation and closing.
You can learn more about the buyer’s decision process through The Brooks Group IMPACT Selling® training program. Contact us to find out how to achieve your sales effectiveness goals.
