Why Do People Buy From Your Website?

Do you remember what it was that got you to purchase the last item you bought online? It was probably one of only several reasons and you probably weren’t even fully aware of your reasons why. If it’s this difficult to know why you yourself buy, imagine how difficult it is to understand why someone else would buy from you. You may think you know why someone is buying from your website but are you really sure? There is a process that customers unconsciously go through in their mind before, during and after they purchase. If you understood this process and knew the reasons why people buy from you, it should be easy to sell more right?

Now hold on a second. I can already hear what you’re going to say. People buy from a website because it has the lowest price. Yes price can be a factor in certain purchases, but don’t let price stop you from selling more. You may have bought from a particular website because of price but price probably wasn’t the underling reason you bought that particular product.

“A budget tells us what we can’t afford, but it doesn’t keep us from buying it.”

– William Feather

It’s so easy to shop for the best price online and it’s becoming easier offline too with the mobile web and advanced applications and functionality of some phones. But price is only one factor in a myriad of psychological triggers and functionality of online stores. Just imagine, being able to tap into your potential prospects subconscious mind and seeing those wheels turn. How much would you pay to know exactly what it was that got them to take out their credit card and hit that buy button? And how much more would they buy?

When you really step back and look at the buying process it doesn’t matter what the product is or who your prospect is. Underneath it all we’re just people and it doesn’t matter if we’re buying online or not we’re all subject to the same rules of humanity.

Fundamentally, there are 26 different reasons why people buy:

To make money
To save money
To save time
To avoid effort
To be more comfortable
To achieve greater cleanliness
To be more healthy
To escape physical pain
To gain praise
To be popular
To attract the opposite sex
To conserve possessions
To increase enjoyment
To gratify curiosity
To protect their family
To be in style
To have beautiful possessions
To satisfy appetite
To emulate others
To avoid trouble
To avoid criticism
To be an individual or express their individualism
To protect their reputation
To take advantage of opportunity
To have the feeling of safety
To make work easier

Now that you have a view under the hood of the buying mind, your job is to tap into one or several mental buying triggers, or reasons why people buy, and apply them to sell more. Which of these buying reasons tie to your customers and products? If you’re not sure run a simple online survey and get insight from the only person that really matters, your customer. But don’t stop there, look back at the 26 reasons and ask how you can add some of them to your selling process, you’ll be surprised at how much more you can sell when you do this effectively.

Just remember the key to effectively applying this is to tie it into your selling process holistically. Think of it like a tapestry, where one strand of thread is weaved together to make the whole. The buying reasons that are most appropriate to your customers needs to be weaved throughout your website, not just simply on the product page. Weave buying reasons in your headlines, your calls to action, your images, every element needs to support and tie into the whole. The reasons why people buy may be simple but applying them is part art and science. Remember, a website is a living-breathing thing, keep experimenting and testing to learn what works for your customers.