When making a purchase, customers evaluate a variety of factors.
What are these factors, and what do they mean for your business?
In this article, we will discuss 7 of the most important factors that impact customer purchase decisions.
By understanding what do customers evaluate when making a purchase, you can create a more effective marketing strategy and improve your sales outcomes.
Keep reading!
7 Factors that customers consider when making a purchase
- Product Functionality
- Ease of Use
- Price
- Quality
- Branding/Reputation
- Customer Service
- Variety/Choice
1. Product Functionality
Most customers buy a product to solve a problem. And whether a product solves their problem or not largely depends on the features and functionality that the product has.
So, when it comes to making a purchase, one of the most important factors that customers consider is what the product does and whether it resolves their pain point.
If the product doesn’t meet customer needs, the customer will look elsewhere for an alternative. This is why Product Functionality is such an important consideration when purchasing a product and companies need to make sure that their products are designed with the customer in mind so that they offer features that are actually beneficial to the customer.
2. Ease of Use
Customers are also looking for products that are easy to use and that work the way they’re supposed to. If there are too many bells and whistles, or if the product is difficult to operate, customers will likely be turned off. This is why usability needs to be an important part of the product design process.
By making products easy to use, companies can ensure that customers have a positive experience when trying them out and therefore be more likely to make a purchase.
When it comes to ease of use, there are two main factors to consider:
- how easy the product is to learn and
- how easy the product is to use on a daily basis.
Easy-to-use products are intuitive and straightforward and typically have a short learning curve. This means that customers can figure out how to use them quickly and with minimal effort.
3. Price
Needless to say, Price is one of the most important factors that customers consider when making a purchase. All customers want to get the best deal possible, and they will often compare prices between different stores before making a purchase. In some cases, customers may even wait for a sale before buying something.
It’s important for businesses to understand this and keep their prices in line with what customers are willing to pay. If a business charges too much, it may lose customers to competitors. Conversely, if a business charges too little, it may not make enough profit on the sale.
4. Quality
Customers are always looking for products of high quality that won’t break down after just a few uses. This makes Quality an important factor that customers consider when making a purchase.
In order to ensure that quality is maintained, most companies have a quality assurance process in place. This process typically includes steps such as design reviews, prototyping, and testing.
Quality is not only important from a product standpoint, but it can also be critical when it comes to service interactions.
A product’s Quality also affects its brand which in turn affects the customer’s buying decision.
5. Branding/Reputation
Customers prefer to buy products from brands that have a solid reputation because they trust that these brands will provide them with quality products and services.
Furthermore, a company’s reputation can be a reflection of the customer’s own values and beliefs. For example, if a person is environmentally-conscious, they may prefer to buy from a brand that has an eco-friendly reputation.
Therefore, it’s important for companies to maintain a positive image in order to attract new customers and keep existing ones.
A strong brand identity can help a company stand out from its competitors, which is why businesses invest in creating a unique brand personality.
When customers feel connected to a brand, they are more likely to be loyal and recommend it to others.
Thus, branding is one of the most important factors that customers consider when making a purchase.
6. Customer Service
All customers know that sooner or later they will need to call and interact with customer service. This interaction can make or break the customer’s opinion of a product.
What’s worse is that stories of poor customer service habitually find their way onto social media, making customer service an outsized factor in the decision process that the customer follows while making a purchase.
In fact, some customers will even go out of their way to find businesses that offer great customer service and even accept products that are not ideal for their needs but which come with first-class customer service.
7. Variety/Choice
Having a wide selection from which to choose allows customers to find what they are looking for while also ensuring they get the best possible deal.
This is especially important when it comes to big-ticket items such as cars, appliances, and furniture.
Customers want to feel like they are getting the best possible value for their money, and that is difficult to do when there is only one option available.
Having many product choices makes it more likely that a product will fit the customer’s needs. Having variety also gives the customer the impression that they had the freedom to select the product of their choice, and did not have to accept what little was available.
Summary
Customers go through a complex set of emotions while evaluating products and services before making a purchase decision.
In this article, we have attempted to separate these emotions into seven distinct decision-making factors that are most commonly considered by customers.
These factors vary in importance from customer to customer and can change depending on the product or service being purchased.
However, it is important for businesses to be aware of these considerations and take them into account while designing new products, marketing them and when trying to attract and retain customers.