There are lots of different ways of categorizing shoppers and after many years of designing websites, the acronym BRAG encapsulates one of my favourites. According to Frank Wazeter, writing for Entrepreneur, most customers are:
- Bargainers Bargainers always want a deal. That does not equate to a monetary deal. Many times, Bargainers are looking for the psychological satisfaction of knowing that they made the best decision and achieved the best outcome.
- Researchers Most smart people naturally cater to the Researcher buying type. This bias is usually because their buying type tends in that direction or they feel it will attract the types of purchasers they want.
- Action takers Action Takers are people with a clearly defined mission: get in, get it, get out. They are sometimes people in a hurry. Excess detail both slows down this buyer type and annoys them.
- Group buyers Group buyers are aware of the social impact of their choices. Sometimes they want social proof, but other times they want the confidence of knowing that others think their decisions are good ones.
Some people imagine that bargainers only want to buy cheap items and researchers only want to buy quality. In reality, all 4 types might buy the same item. It is the process they used to make a buying decision that is important.
For example, if buying a chocolate bar, the bargainer wants the 2-for-1 deal, the researcher reads the label, the action taker grabs the closest one without looking carefully, the group buyer thinks about what people will say when he walks out of the store with a chocolate bar.
Buying a Gucci bag, the same characteristics manifest, though in different ways. The bargainer drives across town to get a better deal. A researcher reads up on where the cows for the leather came from, how long it took to make the bag, how the warranty compares to Coach, etc. An action taker goes to the closest store and buys the bag that is available, even if it differs slightly from their initial desire. The group buyer contacts all their friends for opinions and studies the reviews.
One way to understand the buying types is that each buyer lack confidence and uses different ways to fill the gap. These shoppers are quite defensive, in the sense that they are hoping to avoid making mistakes or being mocked later. All buyers want to feel that they made the best choice.
Bargainers use perceived value. Researchers use information. Action takers want to know that they did not lose other opportunities while pondering too long. Group buyers fill the gap with other people’s opinions.
Practically Using Buying Types on a Website
While all the information to this point has been very theoretical, using the buying types when building an ecommerce website is highly practical. In the world of education, you can see accommodation of these buying types clearly. So, in the next section, we examine how higher education institutions use the four types to improve website design.
Bargainers
Bargainers may be more value conscious than price conscious. Sometimes they just want to see how a selection measures up against other choices. Algonquin College allows their Bargainers to compare up to 3 courses at a time with a well-formatted table.
Algonquin College Bargainers receive a compact and efficient price comparison table.
Researchers
Since sellers are also buyers, sellers often present their offering using the buying style they gravitate towards. Sometimes the smart people that work in higher education prefer the researcher buying type, so trying to help people with what they find helpful, they provide their users with huge amounts of detail.
The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) course sale pages are an excellent example of catering to Researchers. Their course pages feature a very detailed course description. Since Researchers want to know all the details, the site designers put extra details in accordions, hiding it for those who are not interested, and close at hand for those who are. The closed accordion is very compact while the open accordion contains a large amount of purchase and course-delivery related material, perfect for the Researcher.
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Researchers receive a wealth of information hidden behind a innocent looking plus sign.
Action Takers
Modern web design often puts a main call to action (CTA) at the top of the page to encourage action takers who already know what they want to take action. Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) caters to this type of buyer within their course search results. The interface includes information that a course is full where it can be most helpful, signalling the busy shopper not to bother exploring more. KPU also adds information about the course price, and how the course is delivered, speeding decision making.
KPU Action Takers receive useful of information right where it is actionable.
Group Buyers
The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) uses a powerful Group Buyer technique: “share” buttons on page. The pre-populated buttons contain some detail about the course and link back to the course page, allowing users to share to three social media platforms, email and print. Facilitating simple Group Buyers’ consultations with friends and family reduces friction this group faces when deciding on whether to take a course.
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Group Buyers have the ability to reach out to trusted advisors for input when making their decisions.
That was an extremely quick overview of the four BRAG buying types with some simple examples. While each type has much more detail, this is a good place to stop. If you would like more information, have questions or comments, I look forward to hearing from you.
Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash