The relationship between the seller and buyers is one of the most difficult, since the seller needs to look for a common language with them. According to studies, sales performance depends on how much the seller knows the types of buyers and knows how to look for an approach to them. And buyers are primarily people, each of whom has his own psychological characteristics.
Classic types
We are all different, we visit different outlets, we choose products of well-known and not very brands at expensive and affordable prices. The modern standard of living allows us to classify all customers according to the following principles:
- Potential: there are buyers who regularly visit a particular outlet, but do not buy goods.
- New customers enter the store for the first time. And the sellers are faced with the task of making a good impression on customers so that they make a choice in favor of this outlet.
- Regular customers: they are familiar to sellers, always make a choice in a particular store and appreciate it for the quality of the products, or the price, or the service staff.
- Buyers without preferences: these types of buyers are the most complex, since you need to work carefully with them.
What emotions
Each of us comes to a particular store for specific purchases. And each of us has special emotions from visiting a particular outlet. Psychologists classify all clients into separate types according to their emotional state:
- Unsociable customers: they are characterized by restraint and quiet behavior, they do not like to answer questions from sellers.
- Shy buyers always consider themselves right, so they rarely listen to the advice of sellers, are nervous and excited.
- Good-natured buyers are always willing to talk with sellers, listen to their advice and even follow them. Sometimes such customers purchase goods, as they are afraid to insult the seller with their distrust.
These are the main types of shoppers in terms of their emotional state, but between these categories are many customers whose psychological state can change from aggression to self-confidence and obsession.
What kind of behavior
Shopping is an emotional process, and each buyer behaves differently. Someone can choose the same thing for a long time, having measured many of them, and someone comes for a specific model and buys it. According to psychologists, all types of buyers behave differently when a new product appears on the shelves:
- Innovators are those customers who are the fastest to respond to new products in stores, and for them, self-affirmation is more important. Such clients, according to psychologists, are striving to attract the attention of others with original, and most importantly, new clothes.
- Active customers also make quick purchases, but they are driven by advertising.
- Progressive buyers are the most popular type, since they buy a product when the peak of its popularity falls.
- Materialists are customers who buy things that are already out of fashion at discounted prices. They do not accept new products and take what is well established.
What marketing experts say
In their opinion, it is possible to determine the type of buyer by behavioral criteria. Marketers distinguish 4 types of consumers:
- With complex behavior. This behavior is typical of customers buying new and expensive products. As a rule, such purchases are made infrequently, so this is done consciously. Such buying behavior is called complex, as the consumer seeks to study all aspects of the purchase in order to eliminate possible risks for himself. In this case, the seller seeks to maximally informatively and intelligibly talk about the product and its properties, its advantages, so that the buyer can verify the correctness of his own choice.
- Many types, types of buyers have uncertain behavior when they have the opportunity to choose from a series of identical and similar products. Psychologists note that such consumers acquire things as a means of self-expression.
- The usual buying behavior is typical of those consumers who have low involvement and do not see much difference between the goods. Such buyers simply go to the store for a particular thing and buy it without comparing and not looking for benefits. Since such buyers do not have a certain brand of commitment to products, marketers use solutions such as reduced prices or sales to stimulate them.
- Search behavior: consumers with this behavior do not focus on a particular brand - they choose what they like here and now.
Business customer types
The buyer can be different - cheerful and introverted, searching and knowing exactly why he came to the store or to the market. And if the market still has the opportunity to bargain and set a price convenient for itself, then this does not work in stores. What types of buyers are, it is important to know for the sellers themselves, as this allows you to properly organize work with customers. And the client is different, as well as his intentions:
- He wants and can buy: in this case, the seller is interested in also interested in the client and bring him to the purchase.
- He wants, but cannot buy: in this case, the seller finds out the reasons for the impossibility of buying and tries to make sure that the client nevertheless makes a choice in favor of this product.
- He does not want, but has the opportunity to buy.
All these types of buyers are met on the market quite often, so sellers have to think through a strategy and look for an approach to each specific buyer in accordance with his requirements and capabilities.
And who are you
All psychological types of clients can be described in the following words:
- Analysts are always looking for the answer to the question "How?" and seek to find a product that meets their requirements. Such consumers are not too lazy to check the facts, since they love perfection in everything. They ask a lot of questions, so sellers have to exert all their strength and patience to bring all the important information to the customer.
- Purposeful customers always know what they want and when. So they come to the store or the market for a specific purpose, set to win, so mistakes or wrong choices are excluded. Such buyers save their time, so they will not spend it on unnecessary questions.
- Clients, why, are guided by the fact that they learn the whole background about products. They talk and ask a lot, patiently listen to all the answers, but they are not very interested in the facts and details.
- Emotional buyers take risks, they are energetic, and therefore often make spontaneous purchases. Most often, this type of people seeks to emphasize their prestige and love of comfortable conditions.
Models of behavior: Hotler ...
Shopping is a complex process, both economically and psychologically. Scientists even create special patterns of behavior for the end user. So, according to F. Hotler, each buyer behaves in stages: first, he is aware and seeks information, then he makes a decision and evaluates the correctness of his actions. The main types of buyers act in this way: first they determine the need for a purchase, study it, then model the search situation and go to the store. And here it is already important that the consumer makes a quick decision, and many factors influence this.
... Betman
According to the Betman model, choice is a repeating procedure, not a sequential one. The scientist believes that the consumer first processes the information, is motivated to purchase the product, evaluates it taking into account situational influences and individual preferences. And only then it makes a decision whether to buy or not to buy.
Which buyers, such and purchases
We are all unique, each has its own priorities, values and needs. Different types of buyers, types of purchases, and this is normal. But scientists believe that the choice of a product is primarily a psychological matter. And this is skillfully used by both marketers and sellers. All purchases, in their opinion, are divided into three types:
- Shopping that is clearly planned.
- Spontaneous purchases here and now.
- Partially planned purchases.
It is noteworthy that most of the buyers make exactly spontaneous purchases, and this can be goods of any price category. Most often, the consumer unplannedly chooses something compact and often used at home. Sellers themselves lay out all these impulse products in the most visible place - so that the buyer definitely does not pass by. In addition, it is important that the place is carefully organized and attracts attention with vibrant colors or images.
What from an economic point of view
The buyer is interesting not only to marketers and psychologists, but also to economists. They concluded that different types of buyers behave according to several effects:
- the effect of solidarity with the majority;
- snob effect ;
- Veblen effect;
- price effect.
The effect of solidarity with the majority indicates that a person does not buy a product because he needs it, but because the majority does it. That is, such buyers strive to be like everyone else, to correspond with other people in order to meet their ideas about fashion, elegance and so on.
The effect of a snob is the desire to make purchases for the sake of one’s status, to show one’s own significance and originality, to stand out from the crowd. According to the Veblen effect, goods are bought for demonstrative consumption. Most often, expensive items are bought to talk about the prestige and status of the buyer. The price effect dominates when the product is selected not only for quality, but also for price.
All different, but all the same
In general, buying behavior can be explained by various factors - income, and immediate need, and caprice, and the desire to stand out. Someone evaluates a product, someone chooses the most fashionable, someone always prefers a brand of the same product, and someone does not become attached to any specific brands. We are all buyers of different types and standards of living, but, according to scientists, we are all waiting for quality things that would be sold to us with attention and communication. And the modern buyer is not the one who craves pleasure, but the one who first of all strives to be informed and control his decisions.