Action is undertaken with the expectation of having the benefits that result from acting – whether directly through an intangible benefit or indirectly through the creation of some tangible object that will later result in an intangible benefit. In the economic sense, the benefit of creating an item is the benefit that will result of its later use - or in some instances, the benefit that will be given for it in exchange for providing it to another party for their use. Without a reasonable level of security in that outcome, there is no motivation to undertake any productive activity.
The same principle applies to the prospective buyer of a product, and that this is a significant factor in his willingness to complete a purchase: he is seeking to obtain the product (again, service or good) in order to derive a benefit, and unless he has a reasonable level of security in receiving the benefit, he has no motivation to make the purchase. And it stands to reason that this is a significant cause prospects who show no interest in a product, or who lose faith in the product and drop out of the purchasing funnel.
To begin, every consumer is to some degree aware of his needs, or the needs of others on whose behalf he is purchasing. The first mistake that a seller can make is in overestimating the degree to which customers are in fact aware of their own needs: some begin the purchasing process with only a vague sense of the problem they are trying to solve by making a purchase, and during that process they become more familiar with their needs and eventually conclude that their nature is different than they had originally thought. There is little that a seller can do to recover a customer who has come to recognize that they do not have a given need – the suitability of the product to the service of the need is irrelevant if the need itself has been reconsidered.
This leads to the second critical point: that the prospect must have some level of certainty that the product is serviceable to the need that they have identified. It is not merely whether the product is efficient or effective in its ability to function as it was designed, but whether it was designed in a way that would make it effective in solving the prospect’s problem. The prospect may doubt either that the specific product is an effective solution. To address this potential conflict, the seller must be accurate in identifying the specific need and cautious in depicting the product as a solution to that specific need.
Additionally, a prospect may discover during the buying process that there are a number of alternatives that would be effective in serving their need – such that the product under consideration falls from favored status in terms of its effectiveness or efficiency and another product becomes preferred. Comparative advertising can be helpful in maintaining the prospect’s sense that the specific product is in fact the best among alternatives, but to be ethical and credible this must follow a thorough competitive analysis to ensure that it actually is thus.
In closing the deal, the prospect also considers the reputation of the vendor – as even the best product for their needs does not solve their problem if it is not delivered. This is not limited to vendors who take payment and then fail to deliver the product (though this still sometimes occurs, particularly in services), but it also results when the correct product is not delivered as expected – it is a different model, parts are missing, and so on. These problems are largely in order processing and logistics – and even in the present day are distressingly frequent.
The prospect also considers his own ability to derive the benefit from the product, particularly when the product is a physical good (though services sometimes are misused by a customer who instructs the provider to do something that is ineffective). Technology products suffer greatly from this problem, in that they are entirely capable of delivering the promised benefit, but the customer cannot figure out how to use them after the purchase is made. Support after the sale is critical in reducing this problem, though the design of the product and the manner in which it is delivered may also contribute to the misuse of the product. A liberal returns policy may do much to alleviate unwarranted anxiety, but ultimately success depends on the customer’s satisfaction with the performance of the product, including the elements for which he is responsible.
At this point, I think I have followed through with the buying process, from initial consideration through use, identifying the points in which there are security issues for the prospect/customer of a brand. There may be areas I’ve failed to identify, but this should be sufficient for a broader exploration of the topic.
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