When it comes to business, and specifically marketing, having your communication and convincing skills top-notch should be your utmost priority. Poor communication can lead to ineffective marketing and incurring losses, in that case, should be of no surprise, because you failed to convey your message properly in the first place. But, even before getting started with your keynote or first pitch you need to understand that who is your target audience. And, on a large scale, you should be well aware of the different kinds of consumer traits and buying behavior. This doesn’t only apply to the buying consumers. You should also have knowledge about non-buying consumer behavior and how they can influence the consumer purchase decisions.
In this article, we are going to take a look at five different types of non-buying consumers and how they can affect and influence the decisions of buying consumers. Also, I’ll give a little sneak peek at the times when I exhibited each of these buying behaviors for a specific product, service, or brand. Feel free to write down your traits as a non-buying consumer in the comment section below and strike up a conversation.
The Complainer
First on the list comes the complainer. Imagine that uncle you meet in every family gathering, who keeps complaining about social media platforms and pointing out its flaws. However, surprisingly he doesn’t even have a single account across any of the social media platforms.
Similarly, the complainers are those non-buying consumers who keep on complaining about products or sometimes even the brand as a whole, without ever using the product or availing services from that particular brand. Needless to say, that their constant complaints can easily influence those consumers who are planning upon buying a certain product or availing a certain service.
As irrational as it may sound, but I exhibit traits of a complainer when it comes to the iPhone. Even though I am well aware of the quality of the product, and their dynamic service range, but in my opinion, the phones cost a fortune.
The Overly Agreeable
More or less we all know a person who agrees with everything that anyone has to say about anything. They barely have their own opinion or better to say that they rarely have any interest in putting forward their own opinion. However, more often than not, these people have no first-hand experience, but it seems like they do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so they just agree without argue.
Now, as a brand, this might seem a bit interesting. I mean, who doesn’t like a person who agrees with every word that comes out of your mouth? More importantly, when the sale of a product or service is concerned. However, this might not be the case. As a brand or marketer, you should focus on receiving authentic feedback from your consumers. If your product or service has some sort of flaws, you should be well aware of that. The overly agreeable non-buying consumers’ opinions can have adverse effects on buying consumers. Finding out flaws in a product or service after listening to overwhelming reviews is pretty undesirable.
I behave like an overly agreeable non buying consumer when it comes to wristwatch manufactured by Rolex. I am a bit old school and prefer looking at a watch than staring at a screen. But, as a broke college-goer, it is nearly impossible for me to purchase an expensive Rolex watch for day to day use. However, I keep on suggesting them to my friends and family who are willing to purchase an expensive watch.
The Expert
I like to call these people the know it all. These are the people who know more about your product than yourself. They go through intensive research procedures before making any purchase, and nothing that you say can possibly convince them.
Due to this exemplary trait of theirs, people at times turn to them for advice. Even if not a large number of people but at least their friends and family. And, needless to say, that they value their opinions and based on that make their buying choices.
My expertise becomes predominant when it comes to smartphones. I like to perform extensive research before purchasing since it is an important and integral part of my daily routine. But performing such research has somehow created a soft corner within me for Samsung manufactured smartphones. But my reason for being a bit biased towards the company is purely their great quality products at a very affordable price. It’s like they have something for everyone in their store regardless of the amount you are ready to spend. And most importantly, they do not compromise over quality to roll out cheap products.
The Pessimist
I can barely help myself from quoting Arthur/Joker and say, “All I have are negative thoughts.” No
matter how dramatic it may sound, but the pessimist sees nothing but the negative sides of a product or service. It can be possible that these people might have used a product or avail any of your services years ago and they did not receive what they expected. However, after that experience, they never got back to you, used a single product, or availed any service from your brand, but that does not stop them from giving out pessimistic opinions to others. Unless your buying-consumers are loyal to your brand or have some sort of faith in your brand, these pessimist non-buyers can have a serious adverse effect on them and influence their buying behavior.
I show pessimistic non-buying behavior when it comes to a food delivery service named Swiggy. I had a really bad experience of ordering food using this application. And there isn’t only just one issue, but several of them. Starting from lesser restaurant options that deliver to my residential area to the major one, where once there was a dead insect in one of the food items that I ordered and they did not take any step to address the situation, even after submitting several complains and reviews. I had a pretty awful experience and always try to refrain people from using this application to order food.
The Staller
Stallers are the confused window shoppers who are pretty much indecisive when it comes to making up their mind about purchasing a product or availing a service. However, due to their window-shopping traits, they become familiar with a lot of products. But, unlike the experts, they barely have any in-depth knowledge about any product.
Now as a marketer you should be aware of the stallers as they do not only confuse themselves but influence the purchase behavior of other consumers, as well.
More or less every youngster nowadays wants to be the fashionista in their group, and what else can be better than filling your wardrobe with nothing but all the limited-edition clothing pieces from Zara? But, then again, spending a huge amount on clothing is not something I am very sure about. Thus, I have become a staller and I guess this situation is going to remain a constant for quite some time now.
Miss Bibliophile 