Avionics News December 2015 - 59

SHOPPERS TODAY - WHETHER THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AVIONICS,
NEW CARS OR WASHING MACHINES - ARE TAKING CONTROL OF
THE BUYING PROCESS. GOOD OR BAD, YOU MUST UNDERSTAND
HOW THEY SHOP, WHERE THEY'RE GETTING THEIR INFORMATION,
AND HOW BOTH SHAPE THEIR BUYING DECISIONS.

ies for ideas and fantasizing, and then they shift to thirdparty sites like social media and online forums for reviews
and recommendations. If they can find you, they'll also
view your site - as well as those of your competitors -
which makes search-engine optimization and educational
content critically important.
Not surprisingly, this effort to learn as much as possible about the products they're considering complicates
your sales process. In fact, according to the CEB, you now
have less opportunity to shape customers' opinions, even
if a product they've selected isn't an ideal match for the
type of airplane they own. In fact, by the time they connect with you, you may have missed your best chance to
insert influence into the buying decision.
What's more, your tried-and-true sales techniques may
lag behind these customers. By the time you hear from
them, they're not looking for brochures or kicking tires;
they may be months ahead of you in the buying process.
As a result, you may find yourself answering direct questions from someone who's already picked a collection of
black boxes, not exploring what capabilities are available.
And you may be talking to a customer who's auditioning
your avionics shop as a place to do business. This makes
following up on leads even more important - as well as
knowing when to do that and how.
But here's the problem: These customers aren't always
correct about their preferences, and they're not always
open-minded about considering better solutions. In spite
of their knowledge, they are not any better decision-

makers than uninformed customers, according to Andrew
Rudin of sales consultancy Contrary Domino. While they
may be well informed on price and specifications, they
may not completely understand the complexity of adding
particular items to their panel. In other words, even with
the smartest customer, you still have some teaching to do.
Teaching the educated
You have your work cut out for you. In particular, you
must rethink your sales process and evaluate what your
customers truly know (and how they know it) so you can
become a more effective resource when they enter your
avionics shop.
This starts by rethinking the customer path to purchase. In fact, it requires rethinking the idea of a "sales
funnel," where all prospects enter and only the qualified
exit the bottom at close, according to Forrester Research.
Instead, you should consider the buying process as
comprising four steps: product discovery; exploration
and research; purchase; and post-purchase follow-up.
This takes into account the customers' journey toward
discovering options, preferences and exercising their
motivation.
About 88 percent of customers research before
they ever step into your avionics shop, according to
Interactions Marketing. They expect you to be everywhere they are - available on any device they choose
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avionics news

december

2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News December 2015