How to Get Customers to Buy from You

Imagine turning perfect strangers into customers? Just picture how different you’ll feel knowing you could make money on command. You probably know by now that you must do more than just post a product or create a website. However, by the end of this article, you will know the ancient art of taking customers from cold to close.

Do I know you?

Who do you buy from? Honestly? In the Psychology of Human Misjudgment by Charlie Munger describes 25 Cognitive Bias that influence all human decisions. Sometimes these decisions harm us. The Cognitive Bias called “The Liking Bias” can really harm us if we are not careful. Basically, “The Liking Bias” is when judge information more favorably from people that we like even if the information is wrong.

Now, you may be asking, what does this have to do with getting customers? Here’s the harsh reality, people purchase from people they like and trust! Top marketers agree generating new customers requires 3 specific elements. One, customers must know who you are. You can’t purchase a product from someone you don’t know. Two, customers must like you, or at least not hate you! Three, customers must trust you. Think about it, you don’t give your credit card unless you have some level of trust. Only then can you generate a customer.

Take Me to Dinner First

Okay, we know customers must know, like, and trust us before buying. So, how exactly do we do this! Well, you have two options, burn through piles of money and waste years marketing to people while getting little results, or learn to take them through a sales funnel. I’ll explain how this works in just a second so keep reading. However, first, let me give you an analogy about how it works.

Let’s say you walk up to someone and say, “Will you be in a relationship with me?”! Most sane people will say, “Naw, I’m good”! The answer is obvious! Why? They don’t know who the hell you are! However, what if you get to know them, take them on some dates, and share intimate experiences? At that point, if you ask the same question the odds would be much higher.

Sales funnels allow you to date your customers, so they make the right decision! Businesses fail because they try to marry customers (Buy a product) before winning and dining them (Taking them through a funnel). If you want customers buying from you consistently, they must take them to dinner first. I mean have some class! In the next section, I’m going to show you exactly how to do this so keep reading.

The Customer Journey

Alright, what’s the exact process to take a customer from cold to close! If you’ve ever worked in sales, then you know about sales funnels. When I got my Google Ads certification last year they talked about “The Customer’s Journey” which contains 7 different phases. These include awareness, interest, learning, shop, buy, retention, and advocacy. Let’s explore each step and then we’ll talk about how you can use this to get customers to buy from you.

Awareness

We’ve already established you can’t buy from somebody you don’t know. Awareness campaigns capture customers’ attention. Sometimes these ads don’t even have a call to action. The sole purpose of this ad is to get your attention and build familiarity. Large companies run ads to constantly keep them first in your mind. Remember, marketing’s first priority is getting attention.

Direct Response VS Brand Awareness

I quickly need to talk about direct response advertising. Many small companies create ads meant to convert you into customers on the spot. This is called direct response marketing. This is usually necessary for smaller companies because you haven’t built a larger enough brand to make customers buy based on your name. Therefore, you must persuade customers why your product is right for them. Later, when you have a huge name, people will trust you and you don’t have to do as much persuading.

For example, pages like the one above attempt to get a response now! It’s recommended that newer companies focus mostly on direct response marketing because it has the possibility to generate the most sales. However, some people feel like direct response marketing is too salesy. Here’s the thing, huge companies like Amazon can get away with not selling you directly in their ads because they have built an enormous brand.

Here’s the truth, new companies should use both. I lean heavily on direct response marketing right now as my business grows; however, I am constantly creating content to raise my brand awareness so people know who I am. This creates trust! An awareness Ad fulfills the first part of KLT (Know, Like, Trust) by familiarizing people with you or your products. However, learning copywriting and being able to sell people on the spot is a valuable skill and could be the difference between struggling and buying your dream home.

Interest

Great! Now your customers know who you are but that doesn’t mean they are ready to spend their cold hard! Now let’s build interest. Companies invest millions in making enticing offers. Some common strategies informative articles, free training, or special events. For example, a real estate company might write articles about 8 things to look for when buying a new home. These articles don’t sell their services to you directly. However, if you think the real estate agent who wrote the article is knowledgeable, then you might consider using them when you purchase your next home.

Let’s expand this further, one of my favorite YouTube real estate brokers is Ryan Serhant. He makes YouTube content touring the most expensive properties in the world. Now, why would he do this? Simple, when big-time real estate buyers see him as an authority, they’ll most likely choose him to buy a home or list their current one. Not to mention, by showing personality you can cause people to be interested in meeting you or getting to know more about your brand.

Learn

Okay, you’ve managed to cross the first hurdle. Your customer was interested enough to learn more. At this stage, a customer is looking for information so they can decide what product to buy. Let’s say a customer is buying a computer for the first time. They may not understand all the technical talk so they begin to learn more so they can make an informed purchase.

Now, this is a huge opportunity for you! Many computer sellers will partner with influencers and create videos showing you how to build a PC. This educates the customer and positions you as a helpful party that’s helping them make the right decision. The customer hasn’t necessarily decided to purchase from yet! However, by helping educate them you are making it easy for them to build trust!

Shop

If you get customers here, you’re miles ahead of the competition. Your customer is confident enough to make a purchase. Now, it’s time to shop! Depending on the product there are many factors customers consider. If you want to know more about creating world-class products, check out this article.

A customer might decide to go with your products because of the cost, the value, the support, or even because you were the one who helped them learn more about the offer (This is if you’re doing it right). Whatever the reason the customer is actively searching to see where they will make the purchase. At this point, you should be advertising offers that are meant to sell your product specifically (Direct Response). If you’re familiar with Google Ads many times during this phase of the funnel, you’ll see display ads or offers telling the customer specials or discounts that are available to entice them to buy.

Buy

You did it! Congratulations all your hard work has paid off and you’ve gained yourself a new customer. Your customers are confident you’ll fulfill their needs. So, they finally buy! Keep in mind just because the customer has decided to buy from you does not mean your job is done. If you want to build a sustainable business, then you need to take your new customer and turn them into lifelong fans!

Retention

There are 3 ways to grow a business! One, acquire new customers! Two, increase the size of each transaction! Three, get existing customers to purchase from you again. Most businesses are just one and done! Here’s the thing, you are literally leaving thousands of dollars on the table by not developing offers for your existing customers. It’s estimated that it cost seven times more to acquire new customers vs selling to existing ones. Why? Because you have already built trust with existing customers, so they only need to be convinced the product is useful. Take time to retain your customers it’s the key to building a long-lasting business.

Advocacy

Have you ever seen the people who line up outside Apple stores when the new iPhone releases? Even worse, some of these people will get upset if you say anything negative about their iPhones. These people don’t work for apple, yet they will actively go convince their friends and family to get an iPhone. These are Brand Advocates. An advocate is a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or product. Once you have provided enough value to customers they will become advocates for your company and they will do the promoting for you.

From Cold to Close (The Funnel)

Now that you understand the customer’s journey, I’m going to show you an ad strategy to take customers from cold to close. The framework above quickly pushes customers through the entire journey as quickly and effectively as possible. Customers sometimes complete the customer journey very quickly and other times it takes them months depending on the type of product. Either way, you’re about to learn the strategy that turns strangers into customers.

Phase 1 – Lead Generation

Everything starts with a lead. There are two common ways people attract leads online. One, a lead magnet! This is usually in the form of a free webinar, e-book, course, training, or something that will put the customer into the funnel you see above. On one of our sites, we offer the 10 Mandatory building blocks e-book. That is a lead magnet. If you find the information valuable enough to go further, then you would enter the second phase of the funnel.

Phase 2 – Nurture Campaign

Now that you’ve generated a lead you don’t just let them sit on your text or email list. It’s your job to give them value so they can decide you can solve their problems. During nurturing phase the customer should receive free videos, training, or any content that is helpful to them. This stage also can consist of them following you and building familiarity with you and your project. For example, think about large influencers! They might not have created a lead magnet; however, they have nurtured their audience to the point where customers will buy damn near anything from them.

Phase 3 – Conversion Campaign

Now that you’ve nurtured your lead it’s time to convert them into customers. Most advertising fails because they try to start here. Earlier on I told you that you must take them to dinner first. People must be comfortable with you to make a purchase unless your products are so essential, they have no choice. If they are constantly seeing you, then when you run your ad they are more likely to convert to customers.

Phase 4 – Re-Targeting/ Remarketing

Even with your best efforts, you are not going to get every customer to buy right away. This is why you must master remarketing. Have you ever visited a website and when you leave you start seeing ads from them everywhere? This is remarketing. You landed on a pixel on their website and now they can market to you other places. This is the real secret to turning leads into customers. A potential customer might have been ready to purchase, but they didn’t have the money that day or their browser shut down. However, once they see your ad they say, “Oh I did want this”! A significant amount of purchases for any product I’ve ever created came from remarketing.

Here’s the truth! You must build a relationship with people if you want them to become your customers. This process is designed to systematically to turn leads into customers. As much as I hate to admit it, we usually buy from people that we are familiar with. Who’s the best online marketer right now? Whatever name came to mind is probably because you’ve seen them all the time. Really think about it. We don’t have time to check out the thousands of options that are available to us. So, we narrow it down by buying from the people we have a relationship with.

Let’s be honest, if you wanted to take a stranger and make them a customer you must be willing to invest your time and effort. This process will help you start an engine that can have cash pouring over you like a baby holding a cup for the first time. Use this information wisely it could be the difference between you being broke and making a fortune.

If you want to get help with your next marketing campaign contact us here. We are glad to help you master the digital world