The Psychology of Sales | Marketing for Construction Equipment
The ability to precisely target your most desirable audience segments defines digital marketing. But knowing who to target is just part of marketing for construction equipment. You need to know how to target those people if you want to make valuable, meaningful connections. You have to be part marketer and part psychologist.
What motivates your prospects? Understanding what’s behind people’s behavior enables you to create more effective content and present it in ways that will resonate with individuals at every step in the buying process, attracting new interest, generating more leads and increasing conversions. Successful marketing for construction equipment is emotional as well as factual.
These basic concepts will help you “psychoanalyze” your audience:
Reciprocity. You do something nice for me, so I want to do something nice for you, like sharing your great content. Beyond great content, increase your “giving” with an occasional special download, branded merchandise or an exclusive fans-only Q&A session.
- Commitment. People are more likely to stay engaged if they “commit” to you by signing up for something – your blog or e-newsletter, a webinar, etc. The more often they do that, the stronger their bond with you. That’s why refining your calls to action is so important.
- Authority. We automatically trust those we look up to. Establishing and reinforcing your staff’s expertise on all things “construction equipment” builds authority, especially if you associate their names and photos with that expertise, whether it’s live chat, blog articles, social media posts or other content.
Peer pressure or influence. Knowing others are already “on board” you’re your dealership strengthens confidence in others. So don’t just display the icons for your various social media pages, show how many friends and followers you have, too.
- Affinity. People prefer to do business with people they know, which is why it’s valuable to personalize content by showing authorship. But people prefer to do business with people they like, too. No matter how great your marketing for construction equipment, if people don’t trust your dealership they won’t buy from you. Little details like trustmarks and testimonials build credibility, as does a reputation for responding quickly to requests or problems.
- Recency illusion. You bought a new piece of construction equipment and now every job site you see seems to have one, too. You notice it because you’re more aware of it. That’s why it’s critical to deliver marketing messages via multiple formats and channels. You can reach more people but you also give them multiple opportunities to see or hear your content.
Verbatim effect. Important as it is to create content that’s valuable in every detail, the truth is most people will only remember the general gist of it. That’s why it’s so important to craft written content that is easily scannable. Headlines and sub-heads that make key points and bulleted lists that organize information help people retain your content.
Marketing for construction equipment is about solutions, not products or services.
So focus on how you offer value. How does your dealership help customers, and why does that matter?
What problems does your equipment solve? (Better fuel efficiency saves money.)
What problems does your online content help solve? (Prospects and customers can improve their construction businesses.)- What could happen if they don’t buy this equipment, read this whitepaper, attend this seminar? (lower productivity, increased costs and down time, loss of reputation or bidding competitiveness)
Assume they’ve already decided to buy. Rather than saying “if you buy this wheel loader…,” say “when you’re using this wheel loader…” to help them picture themselves already owning and using the machine.
When you understand and focus on what motivates your customers, you can boost traffic and conversions.
