We’ve all heard of it by now, the Consumer Protection Act or CPA for short, effective since the 1^st of April 2011. Finally the “little guys” have the power, to a degree, when buying goods and services. The act covers various consumer rights relating to buying goods and services; the return, repair and refunds thereof; fixed agreement terminations and a few others. The areas of the act that we will focus on that impacts on marketing, though, are: Right 2: the right to privacy, and Right 3: the right to fair and responsible marketing.

Gone are the days of telesales agents calling you at every conceivable hour of the day to sell you that Cellphone contract that you do not want or need. Also, you have the right to demand being removed from mailing lists if you receive spam text SMS’s that do not give you the option to opt out. This also pertains to all other forms of spam emails and other correspondence. This is certainly great news for the consumers, but how does this affect the marketers of all these goods and services? Well now there are fewer avenues to reach potential customers, but there is one avenue that many marketers are starting to rely on to reach an ever-growing online market.

The online population has exploded in the last ten years, with companies like Facebook having more users than all but 3 countries’ populations on earth and marketing budgets all over the world are moving over from the old traditional forms to the new age of marketing, online marketing. The biggest player on the online information/ search engine market is undoubtedly Google. Whenever there is something you want to know, buy or sell, Google can provide you a portal to literally Billions of websites, information and potential customers.

So what does this have to do with the CPA, well it comes down to two words: Permission Marketing. Permission marketing, the opposite is called interruption marketing, is when consumers give you “permission” to advertise and sell to them by clicking on adverts and websites and by searching for information or products. Thus they are coming to you for this info and thus the CPA places no restrictions on this form of marketing. Many large companies are relying heavily on their websites to sell their products and services and some companies do not even have physical offices anymore.

To conclude, the CPA has contributed heavily to the changing face of marketing in South Africa and marketers everywhere have had to adapt their strategies to accommodate this. Companies are spending millions each month advertising using Google and Facebook ads as well as optimizing their websites to rank high on search engines (SEO). The only question that remains is “Can you afford not to adapt your marketing strategy as well”?

Have you ever wonder why people buy a specific product or brand? Are you one of those people struggle to make a decision before buying a product? After purchasing a product, do you sometimes wonder why you bought this specific product?

For any particle product, the buying process can include one or all of the following steps:

Let’s find out the meaning of these steps:

Step 1: Need or problem.

“I need something”. At some point a person realize a need. It is only once an individual recognizes a problem that she can start looking for a solution. This stage cannot be skipped, and is always the first stage of the process. You need to ask yourself, “How do customers become aware of my product?”

Eg. I need to buy a new bed.

Step 2: Information Search

This is the 2nd stage of the purchase process where an individual now begins to look for solutions to their problems or to the opportunities that they’ve identified. There are often more ways than one to achieve the given objective. People involved in purchase decisions are confronted with information from a variety of source: Consumer reports, salespeople, magazines, family, friends, and local experts.

Role of the Internet in Step 2:

In terms of the internet, it dramatically improves an individual’s ability to find alternatives and information about most of those alternatives. Perform a search for new bed and you’ll be presented with at least 65,700.00 results.

Step 3: Evaluate Alternative

Which one is best for me? This includes not only products within a category, but substitutes as well. The 3rd phase of the process is the Assessment of Alternatives with an eye to reduce risk, and maximize the probability the objective set forth is satisfied. The more complex and costly the possible solutions, the more questions that have to be asked and answered.

Role of the Internet in Step 3:

In terms of internet marketing, potential purchasers will look for recognized brands online, or anything within a website that suggests stability and credibility such as:

a. crests
b. partnerships with recognized brands
c. awards
d. consumer feedback and opinion
e. site quality

Step 4: Purchase

This is the big sale. The client did all the research about the product or service and is happy about the information gathered about it.

Step 4: Evaluate (Post Purchase Behavior)

Did I make a mistake? This conclusion can be reached either on a physical level by testing the product’s efficacy or on a physical level by checking the product’s peer approval.

Role of the Internet in Stage 5:

As said earlier,the internet plays big role in spreading both the brand advocate and brand basher messages. Blogging and micro-blogging (eg. Twitter) make it possible for people to share their experiences with hundreds of others with minimal effort. Purchase of a product can help you with you SMM (Social Media Marketing). People become fans of products and services on Social media platforms Facebook and they also share it with their friends.

Let’s have a quick look at some benefits of online shopping.

1. Convenience: You do not have to wait in a line or wait till the shop assistant is ready to help you with your purchases.
2. Better Prices: Another thing which fascinates me is the cheap deals and better prices I get from online stores because products come to you direct from the manufacturer or seller without middlemen involved.
3. Variety: The choices you can get for products are amazing. One can get several brands and products from different sellers at one place.
4. Comparison of Prices: Online shops make comparison and research of products and prices possible.
5. Crowds: If you are like me, you would like to avoid the crowds when you do the shopping. Especially during Festivals and Special events the crowds can really give a head ache. Crowds force us to do a hurried shopping most of the time.

So, what do you think? I really hope after this week’s blog posts, you will be convinced to buy online!

Although we have been online for over 27 years most Internet users are still not comfortable with making purchases online. This is because of the Internet being used by so many fraudsters to con people out of their hard earned cash. But it’s not only them that have made users cautious, we as online merchants have not been doing everything we can to ensure our clients feel comfortable shopping online.  Below are a few tips that will help your clients to feel comfortable purchasing your products online.

1. Telephone number on every page

One of the first things I look out for on a website before I make a purchase is a telephone number. Whenever I find one I immediately feel more assured. Even though this doesn’t mean the merchant is credible it allows me to phone him before I make the purchase and make sure I can reach him should anything go wrong.  A physical address on the website, not necessarily on every page, just reinforces trust with a clients.

2. Always have a clear return policy

Clients like me will always look out for this to ensure I can return my purchase if the product turns out to not live up to my expectations, or in the situation where the product is damaged when it arrives. A good return policy helps clients trust your website as this is something merchants they already trust offer.

3. Professionally designed website

Now this is extremely important for me. If a website doesn’t keep up with the current quality of websites today, I’m very wary of making a purchase from them. You need to make sure your website wasn’t last updated in the 1990’s because then I’m not going to buy anything from you. You need to make sure that you keep your site on track. People can see immediately if your site is not professional. They judge your site within the first 3 seconds of opening it just like they judge other people. So make sure you don’t fail this test.

4. Encourage clients to review your products

By offering your clients a discount on their next purchase or something similar you could have them write reviews for your products. Now you do run the risk of getting negative reviews but these are a necessary evil. They will ensure clients that will be put off by certain factors don’t make purchases and return the products causing you endless headaches. These reviews will also show clients that you are reputable and that other customers have made purchases from you.

5. Offer purchase without creating accounts

Now we all want to leverage the clients that we have already obtained but you will find that forcing them to sign up for an account discourages people from buying from you. Ensure you have the option to buy without creating an account.

6. Offer multiple payment option

If you allow your customers to complete their transaction with a payment provider of their choice you immediately earn trust. This is because most payment gateways like PayPal protect people who complete online purchases using them. It also means that they don’t have to divulge their payment details to you and they can rather use a third party that they already trust with their banking details.

7. Register with safe shopping organisations

Make sure your shop is rated by an external company as a safe shop. In the UK there are sites like www.shopsafe.co.uk where you can register your website. They will then test your website and offer you a certification that you can use to prove to your clients that you have been rated as safe by a third party. They will also list you on their site as a safe shop, which will give you a bit of exposure.

8. Always have a SSL certificate where ever personal details are exchange

Your client are getting smarter online. They are going to look out for a SSL certificate as the first sign to ensure your site is safe to use. Make sure that all the pages where you ask for any personal information be it email addresses, credit card details or anything else are all covered by an SSL certificate that clearly states your companies name and details.

Now these tips on their own won’t make users buy from you but they will definitely help to minimise the entrance barriers for them to make an online purchase from you. Good Luck and feel free to ask questions below.