2.02 – How To Build Awareness In The Current Climate
Do you remember when you first heard about the keto diet? You probably heard somebody say, “I’m doing the keto thing.” You had no idea what they meant. Maybe it was a spice? Maybe it was a new workout program? Then, while chomping down bacon-wrapped beef like a grizzly bear just out of hibernation, they tell you it’s a diet. “A diet?” you ask, trying not to stare at the grease running down their face onto their shirt.
Fast forward a few years and you not only know “keto” is a diet plan, but it’s also a way of life. Just ten years ago there wasn’t any recognition. Now, there are over 100,000 keto products for sale on Amazon.
When you first heard of keto, the sales plug “Buy One Get One Free Keto Cookies” wouldn’t have made any sense to you. But as time went on, friends and coworkers told you it’s a weight-loss diet. Then, they described the lack of carbs and showed quick weight loss. Now you know what problem it solves (weight loss). You know how it works (eliminating carbohydrates), and you know how to start the program (buy a book or read a few blog articles). Now when you see a keto cookie ad, it not only makes sense to you, but might also be worth checking out to see if they’re new and don’t taste like cardboard.
The customer buying cycle like the one described above is an interesting phenomenon. If you look below, you’ll see a diagram of the typical buying cycle. It doesn’t matter what you’re buying – a new car, watch, or legal services there’s a specific subconscious process we all follow. It’s human nature.
Think about it. What was the last significant purchase you made? If you’re like most people, when you think back, it probably started with a problem you wanted solved. Now, a problem doesn’t have to be a major catastrophe; a problem can be some common everyday scenario like wanting to look good for a date, attracting more customers to your business, or how you’re going to lose your holiday weight.
To be able to solve your problem, depending on your current level of market knowledge, you may need to do some research (e.g. you may already have a favourite clothing brand or maybe you haven’t purchased a fashionable item of clothing in the last ten years). Research could entail visiting your local mall, performing a Google search, reading Amazon reviews, or asking your family or friends for recommendations.
After gathering information, the next step is to evaluate your available options – not necessarily from a logical perspective, but from an emotional one, such as asking yourself how this product or solution will make you feel.
When a solution feels right, all that’s left is finding a great logical reason to go ahead and buy, but remember, “The mind will justify what the heart has already decided,” as Roy H. Williams repeats over and over again in his many teachings.
After you’ve purchased your product or service, if you truly love it, you might become a raving fan and start telling other people about it. People do this for two main reasons:
1. To help others.
2. To further justify their buying decision. If their friends buy the same solution and love it, they’ll feel better about their purchasing decision.
This last level is referred to as being a brand ambassador, and that’s where you strive for all of your customers to end up.
This process of going from being completely unaware of a problem, then finding out about solutions and picking a solution is how everything works in advertising, even on Facebook. The idea of this timeline comes to us from a 50-plus-year-old book.
