People don’t just look at a product and buy randomly. There are reasons that drive them to give up their hard-earned money when buying a product.
When you go to a store, a good salesperson needs to know what the customer is thinking in order to convince them to purchase effectively.
You, as an Etsy owner, need to do the same.
People buy mainly because of their emotional wants or needs, whether they are positive or negative.
In other words, if you want to sell effectively, you need to appeal to customers emotionally.
Two main emotional triggers that drive a sale are:
The first category is the “improve your life” products. These products make the customers see “what you can become” or simply make customers feel better. Some common situations include:
Gym sells fitness classes by showing you how fit you would look and how good you would feel about yourself after taking that class.
Skincare products have ads that show the before and after. So that you can envision yourself using the products and achieve the same result.
Big companies use celebrities to endorse their products. In no way they are actual experts of the product, but they represent the better “you”. The companies know many people aspire to be someone famous or important, and celebrities represent that end goal that is deep in many people’s subconscious minds.
So as an Etsy seller, you can think of how your product can improve the lives of your customers. And what kind of positive transformation that your product can bring to their lives.
Another main reason people buy is to solve a problem. They usually have a pain point, and they are looking for a solution to solve it or reduce the pain.
Some problems are straightforward. Painkillers for a bad headache, better shoes to avoid blisters, or simply a cup of coffee to make your morning more bearable.
However, most of the ‘pain’ is more subtle and nuanced. They can be in the forms of annoyance or frustration. Some common situations include:
Let's look at some examples.
Tailwind is a Pinterest analytics and scheduling app. One of its selling point is that it save time for users to constantly go in Pinterest to create and schedule new pins.
Meal delivery apps like UberEats reduce the 'pain' of cooking or getting takeout yourself. This saves time and effort for the customers.
Digital templates like wedding invitation templates allow customers to edit and print pre-made designs themselves. Therefore saving money and time for them.
So, think carefully of what problems your target customers are facing, offer them the right product, communicate how it can solve that problem, then you will be much more successful in convincing them to buy.
List out 3 positives or negatives of your product to your potential customers.
I’ll start first, for my printable label templates:
Now it’s your turn.