How Consumers Decide to Buy Based on Your Reputation

Factors That Influence Consumer Purchasing Decisions

To get individuals to buy from you, offering a great product is not enough. Comprehending the path that led the consumer to your product and how consumers decide to buy based on your reputation is crucial to get the consumer purchase your product and transform him or her into a return customer. 71% of online purchases start with a search. They start looking for a product that matches their needs and suppliers who offer that product. Of your prospective customers, 91% views reviews in most situations and 74% of them trust a business more when finding positive reviews. To increase the likelihood of them buying your product, you need to understand the psychology of the research and the specific elements at play.

Influence Through Consumer Psychology

Most purchases are steered by the subconscious, satisfying an inherent need that can’t be quantified. But there are some behavioral styles that dictate consumer psychology and influence how people make purchasing decisions. With online shopping, feelings affect consumers more than anything else. Feelings don’t only guide the buying process; it determines a purchase. Research from fMRI neuroimaging showed that personal feelings and experiences shape behavior more than brand qualities, elements, etc.

Positive feelings toward a product are more valuable than trust and other views when it comes to influencing consumer loyalty. Feelings decide the purchase and controlling emotions isn’t easy. But there is one emotion you can effectively sway, and that’s likeability. Likeability is the most predictive measurement of whether a promotion will increase a brand’s sales.

Elements That Influence Consumer Purchasing Decisions

Through the years, some techniques have been found to influence purchases through consumer psychology. Of course, your product should fulfil de needs and wants of your target group, but there is a lot more to keep in mind. Most purchases are executed because of emotions, not just the product. The following elements uncover what you should be aware of when selling online.

Your Google Ranking DOES Matter

Since 71% of online purchases start with a search, your product needs to be visible for it to sell. The top 5 organic search results are what most online users will look at with 33% of all traffic going to the first search result. Result 4 and onward receive less than 10% of the clicks. If your product is visible below the top 5, you are not reaching the majority of your target group.

Take Reviews Seriously

Because we have witnessed the effect of negative online reviews on businesses, we can’t emphasize the importance of reviews enough. Research has shown that in the B2C market, 81% of online consumers conduct online research before buying. And a big part, 67.7% of online purchases are influenced by reviews. And it gets worse. A business with four or more negative articles associated with their product or company is likely to lose 70% of your potential customers. Negative reviews can be turned positive when an appropriate, prompt, and professional response is demonstrated– or when it’s clear that the review is false. Simply calling the review into question will make any phony review appear to be less trustworthy. But responding to reviews is a sensitive field and needs to be done with care and tact. We devoted a whole article on how to respond to false reviews.

Social Media Influence

Social media has a substantial influence in eCommerce purchases. A social network’s point of view on a product carries a lot of weight. Just think about imagine your mate posting about a negative experience with a product. Would you purchase that product after reading your friends post? Social media can profit and harm your company in two ways. Your own online presence, founded on what you put up, how you post, how frequently, and how you interact with online users can affect your brand’s likability and therefore subsequent purchases of your products. Then there is also what individuals say about you and who they talk about it with.

Be the Best in the Industry

You can rank high in Google and have great reviews, but you still need to prove yourself. Make your product exceptional, so you are not only depending on new shoppers but obtain market stability through returning consumers. A loyal customer group doesn’t just establish stability, it helps you get to new consumers with none of your own efforts. Happy consumers talk and word of mouth is still the most effective marketing you can get.

Keep your wording and design simple

Consumers are lured to products and brands they can comprehend. This is called “cognitive fluency,” which refers to how easy it is to think about something and our tendency to dismiss the things that are too difficult. Cognitive fluency influences our thinking as well as our purchases. It touches on that all-important component of human emotions. The easier something is to grasp, the more attractive it is. Cognitive fluency influences familiarity, which in turn guides trust and likability.

Create an Empire of Returning Customers

As mentioned before, don’t just fixate on obtaining new consumers. Repeat customers should be a big part of your marketing approach. Repeat buyers are responsible for 40% of a business’s earnings. So if you’re investing your whole marketing budget on getting in new customers, you’re passing up some serious possibilities for growth and stability.
– A buyer who has purchased from you once has a 27% likelihood of buying from you in the future
– After two purchases, them deciding to buy again increases to 45%.
– After three purchases, there’s a 54% likelihood of returning.

The Purchasing Path

It’s hard to be aware of the many aspects that influence a consumer’s purchasing path, nor can you control all these factors. But by recognizing what guides your customers and the journey they go leading up to their purchase, you can focus your efforts more successful. All purchases begin with a sense of need. This is followed by a search for product information which helps determine precisely what they are searching for and the providers that supply the product to meet their needs. Then there’s a decision and purchase, followed by usage of the product and assessment. That assessment is often talked about with others. Eventually, the consumer is in the post-purchase period, which is the moment they determine whether to be a repeat consumer.

As a company, you can influence very few of these moves. The best you can do is deliver a great product that fulfils your customer’s desires. Be visible and easy to find online, encourage the user through great reviews or with professional responses to the negative ones. Focus on reputation first. Make it a great and positive one and the customers will come.

Through Online Reputation Repair you can reverse the damage done by negative and defaming reviews. Google reviews removal is very achievable through these steps.