Questions Your Potential Customer Asks Before Buying into Your Brand

If you were to ask many marketers what power would best help them with a growing business, many would probably tell you mind-reading. How nice would it be to not guess what is in your customers’ minds, and just know exactly what we need to say to convince our potential customers to purchase our products and services? 

Alas, we don’t have mindreading powers. But we do have market research.  

Market research is the closest thing we have to mindreading powers, and it can get us insider access into what questions go through potential customers’ minds before they decide whether to make a purchase.  

If you answer all of these questions satisfactorily, you will be in a much better position to get conversions than companies that don’t answer them. 

But, what exactly are the questions potential buyers are asking, past what is the most cost-effective? While specific questions change from industry to industry and different price levels, there are a few questions that are widely considered during most purchase journeys.

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Questions your potential customer asks before buying into your brand 

Who else uses the product in the industry, and what do they think of the product’s usefulness and performance? 

Not many people are inclined to be the “first”. Some people don’t mind jumping into a brand with no research, reviews, or word-of-mouth confirmation that it’s a good purchase. But most of your audience probably doesn’t fall into that category. People want to know that other people, especially people with the same needs, interests, and goals as them are using and loving your company’s offerings.  

How to address this question: 

Create an influencer content strategy so followers can find the review from people they follow and trust. Growing a strong list of micro-influencers can be a cost-effective way to leverage paid social partnerships that reach your niche audience.  

Another option, especially if you have a strong and loyal customer base would be to create an ambassador program, so you can eventually have your strongest customers promoting your brand without needing to use a budget. On top of that, your most loyal customers will have several personal stories, perspectives, tips, and advice that can make great user-generated content for you to share and circulate. 

What if I change my mind? 

We’ve all experienced our personal horror stories about a thing you bought that was next to impossible to return. It can start with an overpriced and sub-par product that isn’t impressing you. This leads to a 4-week email back-and-forth with a rep from across the world. Maybe followed by a three-hour wait to talk to a rude customer service rep. Maybe you tried everything but just couldn’t get your money back. These experiences leave a lasting bad taste in our mouths that impact every thoughtful purchase we make going forward.  

The risk of buyer’s remorse can be strong enough to keep the ideal customer from buying into your brand. So, how do you appease that fear of regret and instill confidence in your customers? Through honesty, clarity, and expectation-setting from A to Z.  

How to address this question: 

Listing your return and exchange policies, showcase on-site reviews, and if you have a great return policy, refer back to the risk-free purchase often. Stating “we’ll pay for return shipping”, “free 30-day trial” or “wear it, use it, return it” type messaging will seriously cut down on the apprehension many people will feel buying into a new brand. 

Is this brand easy to buy from? 

If your potential customers weren’t impacted by the ease or difficulty of the purchase process, the number of abandoned carts would be dramatically smaller. But, of course, we know the harder it is to finish the purchase journey, the more likely you’ll lose potential customers along the way. Several steps, an outdated or unpleasant user experience, a lack of interoperability, and confusing instructions can all be players in losing promising customers.  

How to address this question: 

Always look at your purchase process from the eyes of an impatient customer. Does your platform leverage all of the right payment integrations? Are customers able to choose their preferred pathway to purchase? Is your payment platform easy on both the brain and the eyes? There is a very long checklist of tips that can help you run a status report on your purchase process. But the best thing you can do is have yourself or even better, a person with no bias test out the process and discuss the experience.  

Past optimizing your on-platform purchasing, set up off-site purchasing! Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest all now offer on-platform purchasing for customers who don’t want or need to get on your website.  

Do I want to support this company overall? 

This may be the biggest question of all, and the one that is hardest to unpack. Buyers aren’t just looking at the cheapest product anymore. They want a company that reflects their values. Does the customer take steps to live a sustainable life? They will support companies that do the same. Do they support certain causes around social activism? Then they will gravitate towards companies that care about the same. If your company doesn’t prioritize Corporate Social Responsibility, the buck may stop there. But if your company acts on specific values and community goals, communicating that in your branding can help you reach these highly thoughtful customers. 

How to address this question: 

Create a Mission and Impact page. Run relevant campaigns. Create thought-provoking content. Essentially, just be loud about the actions that your company takes and the values that your company actively upholds. Anyone can say “We care”. But not every company can say We care, so we are doing X, Y, and Z.  

Answer your potential customer’s questions to gain new loyal customers. From social to a website to print, keeping these questions in mind will always set you up for success. If you need help answering the right questions in your strategy, reach out to our team!