Viva’s Blog: Would YOU buy from YOU?

Savvy marketers understand that it’s not about what they’re selling, it’s about what their customers are buying. It’s about solving a customer’s problem and then clearly and succinctly explaining why your solution is different and better than any other.

Today Amazon alone sells over 200 million products in the USA. Some are winners; plenty are losers. Consumers have more choices than ever before, so it’s imperative that it’s easy to buy from you.

This concept applies to service businesses too. Ever receive a proposal for a service that talks more about the “seller’s” business than yours? Or how about that dreaded PowerPoint “capabilities” presentation that includes 200 words per slide about the firm’s impressive past when all you care about is why they’re different and better than your alternatives? 

How can you make it easy to buy from you? Learn from these pros.

Pro 1: Moosejaw

What are the odds that the piece of clothing you buy online fits? Studies indicate that 17% of online clothing purchases are returned due to fit. That’s a bad buying experience. Enter Moosejaw. The brand is known for its nonsensical marketing called “Moosejaw Madness”. Packages arrive with a sticker with their memorable logo and list of activities: BACKPACKING – CLIMBING – FRENCH KISSING – MOUNTAINEERING – TRAIL RUNNING. 

Why did they make our list of brands that are easy to buy from? When you click on “Pick a size”, a window opens to create your “True Fit Profile”. Your “True Fit Profile” is based on the sizes you wear for other brand names. That’s right. They understand that you wear clothes manufactured by a lot of different brands, many they don’t carry. But using that data will help you pick the best size. Best of all, they save the data so when you click on another piece of clothing, their algorithm calculates the optimal size for that item as well. Gain or lose weight? No problem. It’s easy to “Manage your True Fit Profile”.

  

Note that Moosejaw’s text around “True Fit” is succinct and clear. They understand that adding fluff adds no value to their customers. 

Moosejaw’s frictionless buying process helps increase sales and their lower return rate reduces expenses. 

Pro 2: Architectural Mailboxes

Why did Architectural Mailboxes make the cut? On the inside of every mailbox in easy to read type is the model number and manufacturing date. 

Who cares, you ask? How many products from lipstick to running shoes to hiking shorts do you want to reorder only to find the name, model number or proprietary description has worn off, is no longer listed on the website or is not part of “this year’s collection”?

Marketers talk about retaining customers but few make reordering easy. 

Pro 3: Toyota Financial Services

Ever lease a car? Many dread the lease expiration date because it means having to figure out what to do with the car. Toyota is changing that stress-inducing experience. Ninety days before the lease expires, customers receive a customized email that says, “you’ve got end-of-lease options”. But they don’t stop there. TFS provides your options in an easy to navigate manner with three big boxes to choose from:

  

Get new customers and keep them. Make it easy to buy from you and then make it easy to buy from you again.