{"id":887,"date":"2016-05-03T22:54:31","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T22:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/what-is-guided-selling-and-how-it-works-guided-selling-2\/"},"modified":"2024-03-01T20:11:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T20:11:40","slug":"what-is-guided-selling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guided-selling.org\/what-is-guided-selling\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Guided Selling and How Does it Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In her compelling TED talks<\/span><\/a>, Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyana proves an incontrovertible truth: choice overload is real. Today, consumers\u00a0are confronted\u00a0with more options and\u00a0more touch points than ever.\u00a0It is all too easy for them to experience decision fatigue<\/span><\/a>, basically\u00a0giving them 3 options to either \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. give up and abandon their digital carts because their needs aren\u2019t being met along a purchase path<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. pick something up without giving it much thought and risking dissatisfaction with the purchase<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. pass the decision-making responsibility to someone else.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Given the overwhelming number of options consumers  are faced with today, they want to feel in control \u2013 from discovering a new product to making a purchase decision. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You have to give your customers enough choice so they can feel in control. But not so much that they feel that making a decision is nearly impossible or bears a high risk of getting it wrong. Guided Selling allows retailers and brand manufacturers to make it easy for consumers to stay in control, manage their options, and arrive at more confident purchase decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Read more:<\/strong> 5 Reasons Why Brands Should Take Advantage of Guided Selling<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How Guided Selling works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Similar to a knowledgeable sales associate who is available 24\/7, Guided Selling solutions listen to shoppers first to understand their needs, educate and inform them about product benefits and features, and suggest products that match their specific needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here you can check out several examples of digital advice solutions<\/a><\/span> at diverse retailers and brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Understand consumer needs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Guided Selling solutions engage users in a need-oriented, interactive dialogue and asks them a few questions about their preferences, wants, and haves to discover apparent and latent consumer needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This approach is a great way for you to understand the factors that matter to your customers and create a more personalized experience  <\/strong>that last beyond the moment of purchase<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    CRM Integration: <\/strong>Sophisticated Guided Selling solutions facilitate the seamless integration with CRM systems<\/strong> to leverage existing customer profile data, like a customer\u2019s purchase history. This allows customizing the questionnaire dynamically to ask only questions relevant to the specific user. And in turn, the answers given during the Guided Selling process can be fed back into the CRM to enrich profiles and support more personal customer service and communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Example of a need-oriented question in a Nespresso coffee advisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Sell on value, rather than price<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Guided Selling solutions can integrate contextualized information to help users understand the full impact of their choices and further assist them in their decision-making process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By eschewing the dizzying technical jargon often found in product descriptions and by engaging with users on a more relatable, less technical level, you\u2019re able to point out direct benefits of your products or solutions<\/strong>, which otherwise may have gone unnoticed. This also presents you with opportunities to sell on value, rather than price<\/strong> and upsell without being pushy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Analytics and Consumer Insights:<\/strong> Guided Selling solutions generate valuable analytics data<\/strong> of the kind only found in qualitative market research. By collecting and analyzing the data, you can understand what customers value and which factors drive their purchase decisions. This information can be used to optimize the customer journey, the assortment, and marketing messaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Additional information to help users understand the full impact of their choices \u2013 integrated at Nespresso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Recommend suitable products or solutions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Guided Selling solutions analyze the users\u2019 inputs to generate tailored recommendations dynamically. Shoppers don\u2019t have to sift through dozens of products to discover the ones that may come into question, but instead can concentrate their focus on a selection of products that are relevant to their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You are able to make the shopper\u2019s experience less confusing or exhausting<\/strong>, leading to increased purchase decision confidence<\/strong> and fewer abandoned carts<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Product bundles:<\/strong> Advanced Guided Selling solutions are able to recommend tailored product bundles <\/strong>ultimately, leading to more effective upselling and higher AOV. For example, recommending not only a camera, but suggesting a camera as well as a compatible lens \u2013 both satisfying the consumer\u2019s needs and intended usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Personalized product recommendations at Nespresso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Benefits for shoppers and businesses alike<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Read more:<\/strong> 5 Signs You Should Invest and Jump Into Guided Selling<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    83% of shoppers require some form of support<\/a><\/span> before making a purchase. Businesses in several industries such as retail, manufacturing, ICT, insurance and banking, employ Guided Selling to make their expert advice available and improve the shopper\u2019s path to purchase. The results are higher conversion rates and sales as well as reduced return rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n