What do custom e-commerce flows have to do with the different types of buyers or buyer personas for your product or service? How can you use all of this to sell more on Shopify ?
Let's begin this article with an interesting anecdote told to us by a car dealership salesman. On one occasion, a young woman of about eighteen came in with her father, clearly intending to choose a car for her. While she went straight to look at the most eye-catching and well-equipped models, her father immediately inquired about the more economical cars. However, the salesman needed to sell a more expensive, mid-range model that same day to earn his monthly bonus. So, the strategy he followed was this:
First, he approached the girl and explained that the model he had in mind was highly valued by people her age, especially women, because of its sound system and other fashionable features. Then, turning to the father, he discreetly confided that it was a much safer model than the cheaper ones in case of an accident, and that it was far less likely that the car would leave his daughter stranded in the middle of nowhere. He also emphasized that it was quite fuel-efficient.
In this way, both the father and daughter agreed that it was the right car, albeit for very different reasons. In reality, that particular model was indeed fashionable and safe, although its main characteristic was its fuel efficiency. However, the salesman understood that this wouldn't be the deciding factor in the sale, but rather an added bonus. Thus, he managed to increase the perceived value of the purchase through emotional intelligence , simultaneously highlighting two different features of the product that were highly valued by each of the decision-makers involved.
What did we learn from this story?
Lesson #1: Different types of customers value different things in the same product
Besides cars, there are countless products that offer simultaneous benefits that can be incredibly appealing to certain types of customers, or rather, completely irrelevant. We've already seen that you can sell a car to someone based on status or security, but the same applies to many other types of products or services: food, fashion and beauty, subscriptions to online platforms, and so on.
The main reason someone buys something is because they need it to satisfy a basic need, but in today's economy most people can afford to satisfy needs that are not so essential, and choose from hundreds of options to satisfy the ones that are.
This sustains a vast and constantly growing market characterized by intense competition, forcing brands to answer very specific questions to different sectors of potential buyers, for example:
How can this product satisfy a need in the most economical way? (Price)
How can this product meet a need in the most efficient way?
(Practicality)
How do I know this is the best possible quality product? (regardless of its cost or exclusivity)
How will this product help me project more status?
How will it help me to belong to a group that interests me?
For example, the message in the following image answers the question: How can I get specialty coffee in the most efficient way possible?
Lesson number 2: we need to know what each of our customers values most (and how they behave)
Let's revisit some basic marketing concepts: remember that a segment is a group of customers who share common characteristics or expectations. Identifying segments helps tailor marketing strategies to meet their specific needs.
A buyer persona, on the other hand, is a detailed representation of an ideal customer within a specific target segment. It's a preferred strategy in the world of digital marketing because it humanizes the target audience. Most businesses with an online store have more than one buyer persona, and by profiling each one, you can better understand their motivations and needs, as well as their hierarchical position within the sales funnel. This allows you to further personalize your communication, increase the impact of your messages, and facilitate the potential customer's journey through the entire sales process.
For example, on this skincare product page, we see this order of messages that respond to the expectations of its main target audience, who value professional skincare, but also seek accessibility and price:
If all of the above were not enough, it should also be considered that potential customers who value the same things may not behave in the same way; some are impulsive, some are analytical, some are loyal, etc.
Lesson number 3: The sales narrative for the same product must be adapted to your different types of buyers
Most successful products have a core value proposition, but this doesn't mean it's the most effective for every buyer. For example, consider an online store that sells vegan protein supplements, and whose price, being a specialized product, is among the highest on the market. The brand's main value proposition is that it's an animal-free option, but there are hundreds of potential customers for whom this isn't necessarily the most important factor.
Since this is an expensive product compared to the competition, we'll exclude the price-conscious consumer—they're not our target audience—but we can still reach everyone else with a smart strategy. It's not just about identifying what they value most, but also about determining the most effective order in which to present the benefits. For example, two customers who value the vegan origin above all else might also value the other aspects of the product differently, so the communication will need to be adjusted. Let's look at a couple of examples.
Your primary buyer persona is the one that aligns with your main value proposition. In this case, the message you want to emphasize to this entire segment, especially at the beginning of the sales process (social media ads, organic search , viral posts, etc.), would look something like this:
Tired of searching for a protein that is truly 100% vegan?
Our brand is completely cruelty-free.
However, one vegan customer might value, secondarily, the status associated with purchasing an expensive protein, while another vegan customer might value more the fact that the product already includes supplements for specific needs. Although we don't yet fully understand the customer, we can infer certain winning combinations based on some initial sociodemographic and behavioral data.
For example, vegan customers coming from certain aspirational social media platforms, such as IG, are highly likely to value status as their second most important factor, and your integrated value proposition would look something like this:
Tired of searching for a protein that is truly 100% vegan?
Our brand is completely cruelty-free
And one of the most exclusive on the market
And if that weren't enough, it comes supplemented according to your specific needs.
What about customers who arrive at your online store from ads in specialized communities, and who might value product effectiveness more? In this case, it would be better to structure your message like this:
Tired of searching for a protein that is truly 100% vegan?
Our brand is completely cruelty-free
And it comes supplemented according to your specific needs.
What's more, it's one of the most recommended on the market if you're looking to build muscle mass quickly.
It seems like a very subtle difference, doesn't it? But consider that, in the online market for vegan protein alone, there are hundreds of options. Integrating these "subtle differences" into our narrative makes all the difference when it comes to tipping the scales of the final decision in our favor.
The same applies to buyers who value status, product quality, or supplement customization above all else. We'll always start with what's most important to them, but we still need to figure out the ideal formula for presenting benefits to each individual and the types of stimuli they respond to best, depending on their buying style.
Let's look at a real-life example. This brand, it seems, is focusing one of its strongest messages on an audience that values quality and belonging, presumably female:
Lesson number 4: You need customizable automated workflows and analytics
We know that identifying all of the above and personalizing each message sounds like a Herculean, almost impossible task, and indeed it is when done manually. Fortunately, automation integrations and artificial intelligence in e-commerce come to our rescue, and today they are a key factor if you truly want to differentiate yourself from your competition.
With Shopify, create the perfect ecommerce flows for every potential customer.
Shopify and Shopify Plus are among the best platforms for ecommerce , as they offer a wide range of tools and applications to automate and personalize sales flows that adapt "like a glove" to different potential customers.
- Use automation tools to segment your customers and send them personalized messages at the right time.
- Implement personalization applications that display different products and offers based on each visitor's behavior and preferences.
- Use Shopify's analytics capabilities to monitor customer behavior and adjust your strategies in real time.
- Using artificial intelligence solutions, it analyzes large volumes of data and predicts customer behavior to further personalize interactions.
Conclusion
At Getmore, we're a Shopify and Shopify Plus agency specializing in ecommerce design , equipped with the advanced tools you need to create unique and highly effective experiences for every potential customer. Our Shopify experts are ready to help you implement these strategies and take your business to the next level. Contact us today for a personalized consultation!
