3 Aspects To Convince Both Buyers And Users To Buy

Q: "In my product, the buyer is not the user. How do I convince them to pay?"

‍

In product-led growth models, it's not uncommon for the buyer and the user to be different people.

For example, imagine a digital marketer (user) opts for an account on Mailchimp, Asana or Canva.

They start using it and attain solid productivity. However, as soon as they intend to unlock advanced (premium) features, they have to go back to their supervisor (buyer) - a Director or VP or Head of department - to put down the dough.

Now, buyers don't necessarily resonate with the messages meant for users.

For example, if you're selling HR software, a buyer isn't going to be that moved when you tell them your product enables recruiters to:

• Post jobs with ease
• Approve requisitions and setup workflows
• Search resumes with 30+ filters

That doesn't mean they don't care about their users & their needs. However, they need to hear how your product's capability matrix rolls up back to improve the "business" and not a specific individual's life.

Thus, much like how you need an adapter to hook an HDMI cable into a USB port, you need to translate user benefits into buyer-level considerations.

Here are 3 aspects to focus on in your messaging:

1. Functional: Convert user data into relatable business metrics

For example, for an applicant tracking system, demonstrate how posting a job and capturing/sorting applications translate into time savings for the business.

"Cut Recruiter Costs by X & Save Y Time to Hire Faster"

Similarly, an onboarding platform can highlight how they fast-tracked employees to become productive 2 weeks earlier than usual creating some measurable business value (e.g. sales reps started selling earlier or building pipeline sooner)

2. Emotional: Leverage user satisfaction to move the needle

Summarize reviews, testimonials and third-party ratings by a large group of users in a related industry to create buying comfort.

Showcase positive Net promoter scores to quantify praise and build your G2 profiles to serve as compelling social proof.

Although the "bandwagon" logic might appear to be a shallow, it still works in human psychology.

3. Social: Project success by showing comparables

Buyers will always raise their eyebrows when competition is highlighted.

If you have success stories within the same industry or better - with direct competitors - emphasize on those in front of buyers with vigor.

Flag competitor achievements and project a reality where the buyer's company could have the same & more. Trigger fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) and spotlight the tragedy of being left behind.

In other words, distill user value into a form that buyers will understand.