Have you struggled figuring out how to convince prospects to purchase your product or service? The customer decision-making process will be either implicit or explicit. It helps to understand this tidbit of consumer psychology so you can make stronger sales.
Implicit and explicit decisions are ones that consumers make every day, including you. Consumer psychology is a larger topic on its own, but let’s look at these two types of decisions:
- Implicit decisions are those conclusions that people calculate on their own. For example, if I wanted a new car, I would naturally justify the need for 300 horsepower because I want.
- Explicit decisions are those conclusions made by people when they’re convinced. Continuing my last example, I would opt for the 40+ MPG car would be because I should.
When writing copy in your e-mails and on your sales pages, you want to blend these concepts so you target all your warm prospects and ensure they are enabled and encouraged to act, but not forced. Generally, people don’t like to be “sold” on anything — they enjoy making implicit decisions. Think about the last time you bought something, just on a whim without consulting with anyone. Impulsive buys aren’t necessarily bad, especially not when a customer justifies (and genuinely believes) their purchase of it. Buyer’s remorse occurs most frequently when people explicitly make a buying decision (e.g., pushy car salespersons).
An easy way to induce implicit decisions is to just state the unbiased facts about your product or service. Perhaps, you can offer social validation through customer testimonials. In addition, offer charts, graphs and unquestionable data to enable prospects who research support for their interest in your products or services.
Personally, I tend retain products and services that I implicitly chose to acquire much more than items that someone explicitly convinced me to buy. You want to be able to promote that same feeling with your customers — the love, the instant gratification, the value.
How do you encourage your prospects to make implicit decisions? Share your tips in the comments below.
