How customers choose

You know your business inside and out. You see the skilled people behind the product, the care needed to do things right, the shortcuts you refuse to take.

You know exactly what makes you the best choice.

So why are people still choosing someone else?

Because they’re not on the inside with you. They only see a tiny piece of what you do.

It’s like an iceberg. There’s a whole lot under the surface they can’t see.

They see your website. Your product. Your price. A quote. A brief interaction…

In that moment, they choose based on what’s in front of them. And if they can’t see why you’re a better choice, they may move on.

It’s just the way we buy…

We usually don’t look for the best.

Think about the things you bought last week. How often did you stop to work out which option was best?

Probably not very often.

Imagine researching every meal, cleaning product, tool, app, and piece of clothing you buy…

You’d have no time left for anything else.

So we make the best choice we can from what’s in front of us.

Recently, I was halfway through making chocolate chip cookies when I realized I was out of flour. I ran to the grocery store and found about a dozen bags to choose from.

I didn’t look up their milling methods or compare the quality of their wheat. I spent a few seconds looking along the shelf.

A blue bag caught my eye. It said “High quality,” the price seemed fair, and there was a picture of a cookie on the front. So I grabbed it.

The other bags got a glance. Each had a moment to give me a reason to choose it, but none did.

A few words, a price, and a picture of a cookie. That’s what I based my choice on.

And even when we do look for the best?

You might be thinking:

“Sure, but that’s just flour. It’s cheap, it’s low risk, and you only looked for a few seconds.”

Fair point. So what about a new roof for a house you plan to live in forever?

Not long ago, I bought a home with a roof that desperately needed repair. I spent three weeks looking through local roofers’ websites, reading reviews, and talking to contractors.

Each was a moment where a roofer could win me over or lose me. By the time I asked for quotes, only three were still in the running.

Their quotes were similar. And even after all that research, I couldn’t tell how carefully they’d install the roof or whether it would still be leak-free in 15 years.

But one contractor offered a no-leak guarantee. So I chose him.

The no-leak guarantee was the cookie on the bag.

A bag of flour got a few seconds of my time. A roof got three weeks. But in both cases, what happened in those moments made one option the obvious choice for me.

One choice after another.

It’s easy to think of buying as one decision. But customers are making smaller choices all the way through.

They visit your website, read an email, ask a question, or look over a quote. Each is a moment where they can choose you or move on.

You need to keep winning them over from one moment to the next. Miss one, and you could be the flour bag that only got a glance, or the roofer who never made my final three.

And it doesn’t stop at the sale. The moments after it matter too. If you want that customer to come back, you need to keep making yourself easy to choose.

Winning the moment of choice.

The businesses that dominate their market don’t always have the best product. But they know how to win customers over in those moments.

Here’s what they get right:

They make it obvious why they’re a better choice, show why that matters to the customer, and make choosing them feel right.

Every moment needs all three.

1. Make it obvious

First, make it easy to see why you’re a better choice.

One of the bags I ignored may have held better flour. Higher-quality wheat that made tastier cookies.

One of the roofers I ruled out may have done better work. A more skilled team with higher standards.

But I couldn’t see why I should choose them. So I didn’t.

Whatever makes you better needs to give the customer a clear reason to choose you in that moment.

2. Make it relevant

Next, make it about what the customer needs.

I needed flour for cookies. The picture on the bag showed exactly that.

I needed a roof that wouldn’t leak. The no-leak guarantee promised exactly that.

Better ingredients, skilled people, and higher standards become reasons to choose you when the customer can see how those things meet their needs.

3. Make it feel right

Finally, make it about how the customer wants to feel.

With the flour, it was the pleasure of fresh cookies. The cookie on the bag had me looking forward to mine.

With the roof, it was relief. The guarantee meant I could stop worrying about leaks.

Show customers you understand what the purchase means to them, and choosing you will feel right.

If any of the three is missing, the customer moves on. And it’s going to cost you…

What does a missed moment cost you?

Sales. It costs you sales.

And the better you are, the more it hurts. You’ve paid for better materials, hired skilled people, and taken the time to do things right.

You’re paying to be better. But in that moment, a worse option can still be easier to choose.

Getting every moment right

You know why customers should choose you. It’s harder to see what’s stopping them.

That’s where I come in.

I look at those moments with fresh eyes and find where you’re hard to choose.

Then I build a playbook showing your team exactly what to say and do to win customers over.