For webmasters, analyzing customer attitudes or demeanor toward a certain website involves understanding their intentions. Questions like “Why are they visiting the site?” and “What are they working on in this site?” rise when trying to comprehend what transpires or happens on a website. This understanding applies to consumer goods and services because it involves customer intention. Businesses try to determine what factors drive customers to purchase the product or avail services. Is there a process involved before consumers actually buy the product? Does the brand matter?
Purchase Analysis: Intention Scale
Gauging the customer’s purchase intention is a significant research undertaking. When utilized as a metric and tracked as time progresses, intentions are more valuable. Intent can be determined by using a single-item scale (Likert scale) or a common purchase intention scale (the intention is expanded to incorporate other product or service classifications). These two configurations have something in common: time component. It is a must that survey administrators provide survey participants a sensible time frame when asking about their purchase intent. The time span differs depending on the nature of the product’s or service’s procurement period. Products that are bought more often have a shorter window (by next week, perhaps) compared with fancy and pricey items or services that have generally longer span (e.g. in three months time).
Typically, the rating scale for purchase intent surveys is a five-point balanced scale. What makes it “balanced” is that it has an even number of affirmative and negative choices: definitely not, unlikely, neutral, likely, definitely. In general, this scale is only as good as the other auxiliary variables present in the survey. It still depends on the analysis and interpretation of data which customer segments have the highest and lowest tendencies in making a purchase.
Factors that Influence Customer Purchase and Repurchase
In Business-to-Business (B2B), it is essential to fathom the consumers’ re/purchase intentions and the drivers that affect these intentions since these translate to increased profitability. It has been said that customer satisfaction is among the key drivers for customer purchase and repurchase. Therefore, it is only fitting to have deep insights on what influences customers’ satisfaction, which has a great impact on their purchasing intentions.
Customers’ perceived value of the product also influences a customer’s purchase intention. Perceived value is associated with the consumer’s familiarity or awareness with the product, the product’s overall presentation, and celebrity endorsements. When customers buy something, they normally use personal judgment and their awareness of the brand in making a decision. In terms of the overall presentation of the brand, customers tend to get attracted to a product that has good packaging, design, or style. Also, products endorsed by trusted celebrities have higher customers’ perceived value.
Today’s technology, particularly the social media, has made it possible for companies to not only determine the customers’ perception of their brand and product but also understand what makes them purchase the product. However, social media cannot fully predict the consumers’ future actions.
Purchase Intent and Sales Forecasting
Purchase intention surveys demonstrate a good product forecast especially for new items. In projecting the sales of these products, companies ask their target consumers how likely are they to purchase the product. To successfully and efficiently determine the potential sales of a new product or service through purchase intentions surveys, there are three steps to follow. First is to identify the demographic profile of your prospective customers. Next, employ a time-defined purchase intention survey to assess and gauge the sales potential of the product. Lastly, Predict market sales by integrating the likelihood of a purchase with the market size of the target customers and significant consumer features.