Confusion or Confidence – You Choose
We’ve posted before about the idea of a “Win the Moment” checklist. It’s a list of everything your sample boards or other physical marketing materials need to do to win hearts, minds and sales when your materials get their shot in front of a prospective buyer. One of the key items on most of our Win the Moment checklists is buyer confidence.
How do we define confidence and why does it matter? We’ll illustrate with this little scenario.
Imagine This
You’re a shopper in a big box store trying to decide which product to buy in a complicated category like windows, flooring, roofing or counter tops. If you’re like most shoppers – you’ve probably already been online – but you may still find shopping in the store a confusing and intimidating process. Here’s a few possible reasons why.
First, you’re probably looking at significant outlay of money. Second, it’s hard to sort through the myriad of similar sounding competitive claims to understand what makes one product different, better or right for your home. Third, you’re worried because whatever decision you make is one you – and perhaps your neighbors – are going to have to live with for years. And on top of it all the store salesperson has already admitted he doesn’t know a lot about this category.
What you’re not getting, of course, is the confidence to say yes. As a result, like most shoppers, you’ll probably go back online and to at least one more store before you get there.
The Confidence Factor
So, what builds “confidence” in a purchase like this? Well, we believe it’s quick, clear and believable answers to all the questions a shopper needs answered before they can say “yes.”
So, when we start any kind of design project, we work collaboratively with you to create that list of questions. We then work out ways to answer all of them and then build those answers into our design concepts for your brand’s samples or displays – along with the other elements from the Win the Moment checklist.
Here’s a list of typical and important shopper questions:
- What exactly am I looking at – what’s it made of, what makes it different from other products?
- Does that difference matter to me?
- Can I see and touch an actual sample – not just a picture?
- What will it look like in, or on my home?
- Does this seem like a brand I can trust?
- What makes this product the right choice for my needs?
- If I want this product – what will it cost me to have it installed professionally?
- What’s the buying process and how do I get it started?
If the idea of a checklist sounds unnecessary or overly simplistic, we suggest this. Next time you’re in a big box store, check out a display for some building material you don’t know a lot about – maybe counter tops or windows. Are all the answers you need to make a decision there – or do you still have some important unanswered questions?
You Could Be Surprised
It’s true. What some manufacturers and retailers can overlook when putting together a product display, sample board or other collateral is surprising. We’ve found, in our long experience, that taking the time to define what builds confidence and then finding creative ways to bake it into your materials ups the chances of a win when you’re your materials get their shot in front of a prospective buyer.
A perfect example of our confidence building process at work comes from this roofing product selector endcap that we designed and produced for big box stores.
The multi-part endcap cost-effectively combines all the elements needed to build confidence. This includes a brand story to develop like and trust (something almost always left out). An illustrated presentation of product construction, features and benefits for clarity. Simple instructions for choosing the color and the product that’s right for you. Real, touchable samples to show depth and texture, seamlessly married with color matched HD printed graphics to make each sample look bigger and to show what it looks like on an actual house. Information on pricing and installation. And finally, take home samples offer that final dose of confidence.
If you want to learn more about how our process can help you create harder working merchandising materials for your brand, just let us know. Contact us now.
