he customer buying cycle is an interesting phenomena. On page 82, you can see a diagram of the typical buying cycle. It doesn’t matter what you’re buying—a new car, hairspray, or attorney services—there’s a specific subconscious process we all follow. It’s human nature.
Think about it. What was the last significant purchase you made?
If you’re like most people, when you think back, it probably started with a problem you wanted solved.
Now a problem doesn’t have to be a major catastrophe; a problem can be some common everyday scenario like wanting to look good for an upcoming school reunion, generating more customers for your business, or where to take your special someone for your anniversary.
To be able to solve your problem, depending on your current level of market knowledge, you may need to do some research (e.g., you may already have a favorite romantic restaurant or maybe you haven’t purchased a fashionable item of clothing in the last ten years). Research could entail visiting your local mall, performing a Google search, reading Amazon reviews, or asking your family or friends for recommendations. After gathering information, the next step is to evaluate options—not necessarily from a logical perspective, but from an emotional one—such as how will this product or solution make you feel?
When a solution feels right, all that’s left is finding a great logical reason to go ahead and buy, but remember “the mind will justify what the heart has already decided,” as Roy H. Williams repeats over and over again in his many teachings.
After you’ve purchased your product or service, if you truly love it you might become a raving fan and start telling other people about it. People do this for two main reasons:
1.To help others.
2.To further justify their buying decision. If their friends buy the same solution and love it, they’ll feel better about their purchasing decision.
This last level is called Brand Ambassador and where we strive for all of our customers to end up. And in a nutshell, that’s basically the customer buying cycle.
HOW FACEBOOK FITS IN
Don’t confuse Google AdWords with Facebook Advertising. They are two completely different animals. In fact, a lot of the skills needed to be great on Google AdWords don’t really carry over to Facebook. In some ways, AdWords is actually easier than Facebook Advertising (but also more expensive).
The reason for this is because people searching on Google or YouTube are already showing intent. They’re actively looking for a solution to their problem so we have an idea of the conversation that might be going on inside their head.
If we look back at the customer buying cycle, Google or YouTube Searchers are beyond the first step of the buying cycle and already into the second step: “Interest.”
Think about it.
What was the last thing you Googled? Were you looking for an answer to a question or trying to solve a problem?
So when advertising on AdWords, offering a specific solution to a specific problem is a winning strategy. If your water pipe bursts in your basement, and you see an ad saying “We fix broken water pipes, we won’t rip you off and can be there in 30 minutes,” you’re probably going to click that ad, right?
FACEBOOK IS VERY DIFFERENT
But the previous plumbing ad example would be a disaster on Facebook.
Why?
Because Facebook Advertising is interruption marketing.
NO ONE on Facebook is actively looking for a solution. In fact, chances are they’re looking for the exact opposite. They’re looking for an escape like catching up with family or friends or watching the latest viral video.
THAT’S WHY FACEBOOK’S SUPER POWER IS YOUR KRYPTONITE
You’ve probably heard Facebook collects an incredible amount of data on its users including what websites they visit, what they like, and what they click on. MIT’s Technology Review states it’s “the most extensive data set EVER assembled on human social behavior.”
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