The Moment of Purchase – Reaching the Peak
Most of the time when we talk about advertising, we are thinking of how to influence the moment of purchase.
As this series has demonstrated, the influence of advertising starts long before that moment. The act itself, the purchase, is only the tip of an iceberg of conscious and subconscious processes that lead to a final decision.
The question, then, is: can you directly influence customers to make a purchase?
Of course you can!
The Final Stretch – Getting the Sale
Retail stores do this all the time with sales and coupons. Admit it; you’ve bought something you definitely didn’t need and hadn’t even been thinking about because it was on sale.
Food vendors at the mall use a different technique, setting out samples for passersby who may have been attracted by delicious smells.
Pulling the Trigger
What these advertisers are doing is tapping into preexisting, hardwired “need” triggers.
It is easy to justify buying a cinnamon roll, because you are going to have to eat sometime today anyhow. That pair of shoes? Well, a girl can never have too many shoes! It’s not like you won’t wear them.
If your goal is to push someone into making an immediate purchase, identify and hook into one of these “need” triggers.
Food, clothing, happiness and belonging, status, relaxation – these are things that people trawl for all the time. We are always on the lookout for our next meal, a place to rest, greater security, a deeper connection.
We Have a Sense…
Without the advantage of tantalizing smells, radio advertising tends to capitalize on auditory associations for this type of campaign. A clip of a popular song from the past, the sound of crinkling wrapping paper, or rustling leaves and crickets can transport your audience to a frame of mind where your products or services will make sense.
But Wait!
It would be easy to end this series with the purchase. But in order to get the most from any kind of marketing, you really want to take advantage of organic growth – word of mouth is still, after all, the best advertising. If you follow through after a purchase, you get a chance to drill deeper into the potential of any campaign and set off a virtuous cycle.
This is part 5 in our Deeper Marketing series.