Have you ever had buyers remorse?

You know that feeling when you’ve handed over your dollars for something that is supposed to be the ants pants of things….

Like the most expensive biodynamic, rainforest raised and organic chicken ever.
Or a super hyped up course on the latest AI must-know…

It doesn’t matter what it is, I’m sure you’ve had that feeling of ICK in your tummy after the purchase. But why?

Why do we get the Ick?

I’m of the opinion its likely nothing to do with the product itself but rather the purchasing experience.

[Although don’t get me wrong there’s some pretty dodgy courses out there that leave a lot to be desired…. But were there warning signs before you purchased?]

We’re going on a journey to the Farmers Markets in a small town in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Australia to explore the ‘tummy ick’ .

I was super excited to go to this Market.

I mean what’s not to love….
Fresh air, sunshine, the best organic food in the region, the townsfolk who all meet up there every Friday morning and grab a bite to eat or a chai latte, the communal tables and chairs where they all gather around for a chit-chat…. The huge variety of people - from barefoot to the latest Jordans, from no hair to pink hair, from the oldest Toyota Utes to G-Wagons….

It’s awesome.

Everyone is greeted by the cutest old dude playing maracas and twirling a hoola hoop, literally shaking his welcome at you as you enter…..

“Hellooooo gorgeous humans, have a wonderful day”.

I just want to go give him a hug, he makes everyone smile.

And then there’s the furry friends all lined up (and tied up) along the fence. No dogs allowed inside, but they all add to the friendly welcome as you pass through the first set of stalls.

Everyone is lovely.
Eager to sell their wares, sure… but passionate about their produce and most full of all the answers to the many questions they’re getting.

Some produce needs no explaining, but having a chat to the stall holder is gold, they’re a lively bunch… and it feels really good that human connection.

Handing over cash to a small business, knowing they appreciate your $$ just as much as I appreciate their produce…. Warm fuzzies abound.

You get the picture.

But….

What if there’s a stall there that has the most amazing organic chicken ever.
I’d searched them up online before going so I knew they’d be there.

They have a boring stand….
Devoid of any character, just a big handwritten blackboard with all the various items of chicken you could buy with a per kilo price next to it.
There was a truck at the back of it….
Nothing on display (I get it, you can’t really put out chickens lol)…
but just a table with a notepad and a calculator for working out the money.

I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to ask?

I knew I wanted to buy a chook (that’s Aussie slang for chicken), but do I just get the guys attention (he was looking at his phone) and then just ask that…. Or am I going to look silly because clearly there’s something technical going on with the whole blackboard and prices and weights etc.

I’m used to seeing a price on my chickens, and I say, yep I’ll have that one please.
Pretty simple.

Ok so I got his attention.
I asked for a chicken.
He said what size do you want?

I was like “I just want a chicken for dinner - to feed 3 of us”… so I guess is that a medium size?”
He said yes, that’s about a 1.5kg chicken.

Ok then...... We’re getting somewhere.

I saw the blackboard also mentioned thighs….

“What about thighs, can I get some thighs as well?”

"Sure, they come in bags of 3… so how many do you want?"

He turns his back and walks away to the truck, leaving me standing there.
In he goes to get my chicken.

He’s back in a few minutes and puts them on the table in front of me, and starts to wrap them in newspaper. After he’s weighed them.

I see eggs on the counter as well and say I’ll grab some of those too.

Then he starts writing up the individual prices on his notepad, so I can see them.
There’s 2 prices I can’t get my head around.
A $34 and a $32.
I ask him what those are and he says that’s the thighs (I got 2 packs).

I nearly fell over backwards.
Wait, what, how?

Well they’re weighed at the same price as the chicken….. so essentially it was going to cost me over $10 each for one chicken thigh.
He says - do you want me to put them back?

All I could think of was….
Crap, I mean they must be the best chicken ever, and I do want to try them… but that seems ridiculous pricing.

Long story short.
I bought them all.
It’s annoyed me ever since.

Were they great - yes, amazing tasting chicken.

So why do I not feel great about that purchase?

Could I see how they were worth that price?…..
YES - kind of.   

If I think on all that was involved to bring me that natural, organic, biodynamic, antibiotic free, vaccine free chicken…. (in other words, nothing in it that’s going to harm me), then yes it’s most likely worth a higher price.  

So what went wrong.

It was the purchasing experience.

He wasn’t really friendly, pretty much told me he was an employee, had his eyes turned away from me most of the time, it was an ‘unfeeling - devoid of life’ environment, nothing was openly priced (it felt sneaky), nothing was displayed nicely, it didn’t feel special.😢

And it should have….!

Like we should be honouring that chicken and the process and how amazing the work the farmer is doing to bring it to us. Where is the love, where is the joy and the passion?
That's what was missing... the celebration of the business and the product.

In comparison….

There’s also an amazing artisan cheesemaker who has a dairy farm.

She proudly stands behind her wares….. which she has on display in glass cabinets, and some in ice buckets….
With friendly handwritten signs telling you what each cheese is, how much it is and what’s in it.

She chats to everyone that stops by - telling you about her biodynamic processes and how the products are as raw as can be, you can feel the passion and the love that she has put into her cheeses.
And they are spectacular.

Interestingly they are cheaper than any so-called artisan cheese you might buy in a supermarket….. but they are 100 hundred times better for you.
She is passing on the savings to you, her customer, because she’s cut out the middle man.
She could charge more, I think folks would pay it for sure… but instead it’s gifted to you.

It feels very special.💖

Note:

→ There is a line to buy from her.
→ There is no line at the Chicken stall.

🤔

There are purchasing examples all around us.

Everyday, we go somewhere to buy something, as entrepreneurs maybe we should be paying attention to how customers respond to things, how we ourselves respond to things….

And then noting the good, the bad.... and the ugly, as we’re seeing it with our own eyes.

Just because we live in a digital selling world, doesn’t mean the experience for our buyer isn’t the same as a physical one.

I have always been a big believer of the Know, Like, Trust, Buy scenario.

Because this is what I see with my own eyes happening in any purchasing scenario.

If you don’t have a section on your website or sales landing page that tells me there’s a real human behind the product, I actually won’t buy from you. I get the ick feeling in my gut.

The takeaways….

• Make your customers feel like they’ve purchased something special.
• Let them know you’re a real human, give them a snippet into your world so they feel like they can ‘know’ you.
• Infuse your ‘real’ voice into all of your communications, those that align with you and ‘like’ your voice or style will stick with you. Remember the saying: like breeds like. I know I personally only follow people that I feel aligned to in some way.
• Show your integrity - don’t use dodgy marketing tactics to ‘get the sale’. If you care about what you’re doing and the impact it can have on someone’s life then that’s the feeling you should be portraying…. Not pricing tactics to trick someone into purchasing from you. It’s about building trust.
• Stay the course. Your people will buy from you because you’re not a faceless, unethical marketer who doesn’t have their best interests at heart. They will know you care about your products and ultimately your customers, and they’ll feel safe being in your world.

As for me, it’s nearly farmers market day again.
I’ll be visiting all my favourite stores, but not the organic chicken stall.... well at least not yet.

Purchasing something is a choice....

→ your customers can choose to spend their money elsewhere... and that's ok, maybe they weren't aligned with you, your offer, your presentation etc?

But if you're sitting there with no customers or wondering why someone else has everyone lined up at their stall and not yours.... it's time to think about what you can do to change this.

Are people leaving with the ick feeling.... or are they leaving with a 'that feels special' feeling??

Onwards and upwards my Kajabian family.🙌

As always, enjoy the day in your part of the world... and keep on being awesome!!!