3 Ways Using Twitter Has Consumers Buying From You Sooner Rather Than Later

The Communications Funnel

There is a classic funnel in marketing which represents the consumer's decision making process. It looks like an upside down triangle. The top of the triangle is the widest and represents the largest number of consumers. As you move down the triangle it narrows, representing fewer and fewer consumers. The stages that a consumer moves through from the top to the bottom of the funnel are awareness, interest, desire, and action. The action stage is the time the consumer is ready to make a purchase.

Twitter speeds up this decision making process in three ways:

1. Twitter speeds up the decision to buy from you.

When people engage you on Twitter they are often at the action stage. They are telling you that they are ready to buy. But, before they finalize their decision, they have questions. They can do more research and ask friends. However, if you are using Twitter the right way, you will be perceived as a friend by your followers. You have the ability to influence them, and engage them with tailored responses to their questions, at precisely the right moment in time.

2. Twitter quickens the movement to the next stage of decision making.

Prospects listen to the conversations you are having on Twitter with your followers. While these consumers may never engage you, they are being influenced by what is being tweeted. That is why understanding Twitter etiquette is so important. If you engage in conversations on Twitter as a trusted friend, you will get potential customers to move from awareness to interest, or interest to desire, or even desire to action.

3. Twitter lets you turn your buyers into advocates, who in turn influence their followers on your behalf.

When a person buys from you on Twitter, they can become an advocate if they are happy with their purchase. These Twitter buyers have followers who not only listen to what they tweet about you, but will often ask for their opinion about your product. Opinions and recommendations from friends, even Twitter friends, is more trusted than any company message. Turning buyers into your advocates also helps to speed along this decision making process.

Overall, in today's economy, you want your potential customers to buy from you sooner rather than later. Twitter can help make that happen.