GRIPS: Predicting customer decisions
In order to be able to advise our clients well, we investigated this matter in depth and conducted a global study, which has since won various awards, into people's decision-making behaviour. 150,000 interviews in 26 different countries led to the following conclusion: all human purchasing decisions can be divided into just five different decision-making types.
Five types of decision makers (GRIPS-types)
These types apply to decision-making in all sectors at an international level and in both B2C and B2B situations.
None of the five GRIPS types make entirely rational decisions but each follows a particular psychological logic in terms of motive, cognition and behaviour, so that the decision of each type is ultimately predictable.
Five types of decision makers (GRIPS-types)
Bargain Hunter
Likes to research the best deals and loves discounts, gifts and extras thrown in for free.
Source: Vocatus AG
Once you understand the decision-making processes in your market and among your customers, you can start to influence the decisions of your customers in your favour. We are happy to support you in this exciting and important task.
How do the five decision-making types manifest themselves in the everyday lives of consumers?
One of the most important findings for us is that the same person follows a different decision pattern depending on the situation.
The video on the right shows you how each of us can combine the behaviour of all five decision-making types in a single visit to a petrol station.
What we record when a decision is made
If you want to influence the decisions of new or potential customers, you first need to know exactly how customers in your market make their decisions in the first place. To do that, we impose the following three criteria:
Interest
All too often a great deal of money is spent marketing something that is simply not of interest to customers.
It is therefore important to start by determining how interested the customer is in the various product features or the price so that we can respond accordingly.
Knowledge
Consumers frequently claim to know exactly how much something costs, but are actually off by up to 30% in either direction.
It is therefore also essential to establish the extent to which consumers are informed about product features or the actual price. This knowledge gives you valuable room for manoeuvre in terms of optimisation.
Evaluation
A drill in a specialist store is often considered to be more expensive than the same drill at the same price at a discount store.
People therefore evaluate prices according to the situation. We shed light on the way customers evaluate your prices.
Understanding irrationality
When customers decide for or against a product, they act out of a combination of interest, knowledge and evaluation. This can lead to fascinating discrepancies, which companies can turn to their advantage.
A high interest in the price, for example, can go hand in hand with a guilty conscience about the actual price. Alternatively, the final decision may no longer be based on the features that originally made the offer interesting but on other influencing factors instead.
These discrepancies are where the actual knowledge potential lies. In fact, they reflect typical decision errors, which we know about from behavioural economics.
Influencing decisions
It is precisely these decision errors that are the optimal starting point for steering the customer's purchasing decision in favour of the company. Do you want to understand and influence the decisions of your customers? Don't hesitate to contact us.
"The market research (…) really hit the spot!"
"The collaboration with Vocatus provided us with crucial information about the pricing of individual product components, about the optimal bundling of offers that customers considered to be ideal, and about communication that was appropriate for the market.
The primary market research as well as the subsequent exhaustive discussion of the findings with Vocatus employees really hit the spot."
Patrick Wölke
Managing Director
DuMont Net GmbH & Co. KG
25%
more contracts
mobilcom-debitel is the third-largest supplier of mobile contracts in Germany, yet customers perceived the company to be small and new business was slow.
A comprehensive analysis of the customer structure showed that 70% of the mobile phone market consisted of Bargain Hunter and Risk Avoider customer types, but the current TV campaign was aimed primarily at Indifferent Buyers.
Read in the Harvard Business Manager how the board and the marketing department worked with Vocatus to achieve the greatest brand swing in the company's history - with resounding success.
Not only did the new strategy change the TV campaign, but it was also implemented all the way through to the call centre. When the company started to focus on the key decision-making types in the call centre, mobilcom-debitel was able to increase its conversion rate in the sale of mobile phone contracts by 25%.
Your contact partner for the decision-making process
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Case study: what effect do discounts have?
Discounts only work with Bargain Hunters but not with the other decision-making types. A discount can have very different effects depending on the market:
- In the car market, which consists of over 50% Bargain Hunters, few sales are made without discounts.
- In the pharmaceutical market, which is dominated by Loyal Buyers, discounts do not increase sales but merely reduce profit margins.
- In the mobile phone market you should only offer the discounts to Bargain Hunters and not to Risk Avoiders, as they distrust discounts that they see no obvious reason for.
