HOW TO ENCOURAGE PURCHASE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

A recession. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), or as it’s so lovingly called, Obamacare. Government shutdown (which, from what I’ve read, might be a long one). These events can be difficult to understand; spun in different ways by the media, passed from person to person like a game of telephone. This confusion doesn’t exactly build trust, be it from person to person, person to business or person to government. In times like this, business owners and individual shoppers aren’t exactly running out to spend their money.

But even though the government pressed pause this week, your company didn’t. Your marketers still have content and lead generation targets to hit and your sales team still has a quota. “Everyone’s scared so I’m 30% below goal for October” really doesn’t cut it. Another pesky side effect of uncertainty: businesses put the brakes on hiring and sometimes even cut back. You don’t want to be a victim of rightsizing.

So how do you encourage purchase in these uncertain times? Here are my suggestions:

1. Be the expert. Do your research and make sure you understand your buyer’s pain points. If they want to delay making a purchase decision because of the ACA, the only way you can convince them otherwise is if you understand why they feel the pain. In this case, the bill itself is far too long for for most anyone to read in its entirety, but there are summaries fit for public consumption. And here is a fantastic example of what not to do. Thanks, Jimmy Kimmel.

2. Acknowledge the situation. I’ve heard time and time again that sales and marketing teams often don’t want to address the uncertainty elephant in the room. Maybe your client isn’t already thinking about it. Why scare them, right?

Wrong. Acknowledging the situation at hand is the first step to building trust with your audience. Tell your future client that you understand why the government shutdown might make them nervous, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. You’re looking to partner with them long term whether they purchase now or not.

3. Build trust with content marketing. According to a 2012 Nielsen report, editorial content is the most trusted kind of business-generated marketing - so there couldn’t be a better avenue to build trust with your audience. You should incorporate tips one and two in your content marketing: tie in relevant recent events to show you know your stuff. Acknowledge how the situation applies to your industry. Say something new and thoughtful. Position yourself as a trusted business partner that’s worth investing in.

4. Don’t be pushy. This one is a little more obvious, which is why I placed it last in the list. If there was ever a time not to practice the hard sell, it’s now. Giving buyers the hard sell in times of unpredictable times will push them away (and possibly even ruin the relationship for good). Just a friendly little reminder for all you pushy salespeople and marketers - I know you’re out there.

Recessions and government shutdowns have happened before, and will happen again. Do you have any tried and true strategies to build trust and encourage purchase? If so, I’d love to hear about it - leave a comment below.