How can you effectively handle skeptical customers during product comparisons?
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When you work in customer support, you may encounter skeptical customers who want to compare your product with other alternatives. They may have doubts about your features, benefits, pricing, or reliability. How can you effectively handle these situations and persuade them to choose your product? Here are some tips to follow.
The first step is to understand what the customer is looking for and why they are considering other options. Ask open-ended questions to uncover their pain points, goals, preferences, and budget. Listen actively and empathize with their situation. This will help you build rapport and trust with the customer, as well as identify the best way to position your product as a solution.
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Dilnaz khan
Customer Success Specialist @ Instahyre | B.Tech+MBA, CRM
Active Listening Empathy Provide Information Customized Responses Respect Competitors Ask Open-Ended Questions Engage in a Constructive Conversation Follow Up Provide Resources Respect Their Decision Continuous Learning *** Always remember that your goal should be to build a relationship based on trust and transparency.
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Nate Brown
Co-Founder of CX Accelerator
The biggest thing you can do here is build confidence. As Matt Dixon covers so well in The JOLT Effect "56 percent of the time, the customer expresses a desire to abandon their status quo and move forward in a new way with the vendor’s solution but, for one reason or another, is unwilling or unable to make a decision and commit." They are terrified of making the wrong decision. Often we paralyze a potential customer with an over-abundance of data and options. We need to guide them to a place where it is clear this product make them even better at their jobs.
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The next step is to highlight your value proposition, which is the unique benefit that your product offers to the customer. Focus on how your product can solve their problem, meet their needs, or deliver their desired outcome. Use specific examples, testimonials, or case studies to demonstrate your product's value and credibility. Avoid making exaggerated claims or bashing your competitors. Instead, show how your product stands out from the rest in a positive and respectful way.
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Prachi Maisuria
Product Support | Customer Support | Knowledge Management | UAT
Providing customers with insights from the product roadmap and offering previews of forthcoming product features in the next release is instrumental in enabling customers to assess their readiness to maximize the value of the product. This empowers customers to make informed decisions that align with their needs and objectives.
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Paul Tucker
Director of Product Support @ EveryoneSocial | Customer Experience & Support Expert
Much like Donald Miller's Story Brand technique, you need to know that you're not the hero—your customer is the hero on a quest to solve a specific problem. You're the guide with the specific plan to propel the hero (the customer) into a new path toward victory and success. Showcasing your value proposition looks like understanding the hero/customer's need and then highlighting how your product ("plan") remedies the need. Paint a picture of what the future could look like if they use your product.
The third step is to address any objections or concerns that the customer may have about your product. Anticipate the common questions or challenges that they may raise, such as features, pricing, quality, or support. Prepare clear and concise answers that address their objections and overcome their doubts. Use facts, data, or evidence to back up your claims and reassure the customer. If you don't know the answer to a question, admit it and promise to follow up as soon as possible.
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Ada Eze
IT Service Delivery
Allowing the customer have their say, even if you know that they are mistaken and don’t have all the information, or you can anticipate what they are going to say next. As you listen, take the opportunity to build rapport with the customer and Introduce verifiable evidence.
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Zac Cassel
Our quality of being determines our quality of doing.
Some of my best resolutions came from actively listening to our customers. Listening seems obvious, but with a receptive ear you can sift through their objections to expose their primary pain points. It's necessary, in my mind, to offer clarity where I can and locate guidance when I can't. Addressing objections, in this way, becomes an education for all of us.
The fourth step is to offer the customer a trial or a demo of your product. This will allow them to experience your product firsthand and see how it works for them. A trial or a demo can also help you showcase your product's features and benefits in action, as well as provide guidance and support to the customer along the way. A trial or a demo can also create a sense of urgency and commitment, as the customer may feel more inclined to buy your product after investing time and effort in trying it out.
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Kriti Raj
Sales & Marketing Manager
Offering a trial or demo has a lot of benefits - If the customer gets the product experience before buying it, this hands on helps the customer decide very easily as how the product is and how product meets with their requirements. - This type of offers gives better engagement between customer and company can lead to a stronger connection. -Brand gets critical feedback about the product -Of course ! it creates an urgency but along with that it also shows that brand is confident on its product and beliefs in customer satisfaction.
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Anna Miles
Support Analyst, CIPP/E, CIPM
I often will take screen recordings to demo a solution or show the customer the process I took in the support environment to meet their need. Providing customers with sandbox environments should be a given so they can test things on their own and feel more comfortable in the product without consequence.
The final step is to follow up with the customer and close the deal. After the trial or the demo, reach out to the customer and ask for their feedback, questions, or concerns. Address any remaining issues or objections and reiterate your value proposition and the benefits of choosing your product. Ask for the sale and provide a clear and easy way for the customer to complete the purchase. If the customer is still hesitant, offer incentives, discounts, or guarantees to sweeten the deal and motivate them to act.
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Arthur Wagner
EUC RS Service Delivery Manager at Infosys Consulting
Know your product and know how to make it understandable for everyone in a easy way, create a presentation that the customer asks to find out more about it .
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Kriti Raj
Sales & Marketing Manager
From getting to know customers requirement to answering their queries, informing the details creating a relationship giving them trials Follow up and closing the sales plays an important role. -Its a must to reach out to customer after trial as it helps the brand to understand their feedback, concerns and what they found best. -after everything goes fine we can successfully describe the customer why they should go for it. -If any discount or sale is going on inform about that too to make the prospect more exited. - Now, you have addressed their needs and described everything Finally read the prospects accordingly ask to make a purchase. -every customer is unique, so it’s important to tailor your approach to each individual .
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Weiliang Ke
I would also disclaim that sometimes, there is only so much 'selling' that one can reasonably do. There will be instances when your product is obviously not a good fit for the customer's personal or business needs. When this is the case, we should in good faith let the customer know that there will be limitations in what they will reap from using us. At the end of the day, we want the customer to walk way feeling that we have helped them make an informed decision, not a forced one. Immediate honesty builds the seeds for long-term goodwill - customers talk amongst themselves and even if they cannot use your product, you never know who else they might refer your way the next time!
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Blessing Osigbodi A.
Virtual Assistant || I assist with your administrative tasks and that of your Organization/Company for Optimal Productivity and Profitability so you do not burn out, saving time for stuff only you can handle.
Do not argue with them; state with facts why your product or service is better and more expensive. Also try to give them some assurance.