A while back, I offered a posting about one of the epiphanies to come out of the Great Recession: While many consumers can still afford to buy almost anything, they now realize they cannot have everything. (See “Comparing Apples to Oranges,” February 2, 2010).So, in a household that might be forced to decide between a new stereo or a new television (because they can’t afford both), how will the consumers involved decide which one is more important? If you have to choose between the annual vacation or a major home improvement project, what kinds of criteria tip the decision in one direction or the other?
This is an important issue to think about if you sell anything that could be perceived as a big-ticket purchase: If economics force the household to choose between a new room full of furniture or a new family vehicle, how will that choice be made?
Implications: In the foreseeable future, I suspect that more purchase decisions will be made by committee. After all, it’s not just about buying the new car and having the commuter enjoy the benefits it might deliver. If paying for the new vehicle means putting-off the purchase of a new home theatre system, the whole family is more likely to be involved in the discussion. And it might even be fair to expect that favor will be given to those items which benefit the largest number of family members… or those items which might serve multiple purposes.
As families get re-acquainted with the concept of budgeting, you might see family members selling each other on an idea, negotiating, lobbying… or even “trading votes” over which items the household should purchase, or which items should be deferred.
Are you making it easy for someone who wants your product or service to sell the rest of their committee on the idea?
Mike Anderson
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