We are now at the 3rd installment of the ‘five levels of customer awareness

To jog your memory, we are referring to a customer awareness graph that helps marketers determine what type of sales lead to use.

By targeting your typical customer, and taking into consideration what your customer already knows about your product or what the market has to offer, you are able to make more sales.

Not to mention hold your audience’s attention for longer.

Copywriting legend Gene Schwartz originally came up with this customer awareness chart.

 

Most Aware         Product Aware         Solution Aware        Problem Aware        Unaware

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DIRECT APPROACH                                                                          INDIRECT APPROACH

 

Let’s examine the prospect that’s ‘Product Aware’.

Your prospective customer is aware of what you sell, but is not quite sure if your product is right for them.

You can take a more direct sales approach (similar to your ‘most aware‘ customer), but you will need to display social proof first.

product aware image

 

These type of consumers are sitting on the fence. They are the type of people who will do their research first. They will check reviews and consumer reports and will take their time deliberating. Even though they are on the cusp of buying, they need reassurance.

They are well aware of your product along with its benefits, but they are not sure to trust your claims.

This is where you will need to try and build rapport. The good news is with product aware customers, is that the buying decision has already started… all you have to do is win them over.

With ‘product aware’ consumers, you don’t need to spend time explaining how your product or service works. They have already done their homework. Your main focus as a marketer is to convince them that your service is the best out of all your competitors.

Naturally all sales need a degree of trust, but for this type of consumer, building trust is your top priority. This means you need to establish your credibility as early as possible. Such as showcasing awards and accolades. If you don’t have any awards, simple social proof such as seeing other happy customers is enough to sway them.

The perfect type of content for this is video testimonials. These videos are very simple to put together. Simply ask happy repeat customers to give you a review on your iPhone (or shot professionally). If you have trouble finding people, offer an incentive like a coupon on their next purchase. Your quality of video doesn’t need to be perfect with testimonials – it’s the sincerity of the clip that will win fence-sitters over.

Another way of building trust by positioning your brand as an authority. You can do this by creating a host of information style or how-to videos. By demonstrating you expertise in your niche, consumers will assume you are the authority in your field.

The next post will be customers who fall into the ‘solution aware’ category. These prospects know the results they want, but are unsure your product will deliver it. This is where your job get a little harder. But by sticking to the right sales strategy, you will have an advantage over your competitors.