As times have changed, with greater digital media and online shopping now the norm, so too has the relationship between the salesperson and the shopper. Once upon a time, salespeople walked door to door, showing you how products worked and why they were worth your time.
Over time, visits from friendly neighbourhood salespeople were replaced with print advertorials and TV infomercials – the connection between salesperson and customer was gradually lost. Before long, the most common form of advertising was through the almighty Internet and its plethora of entertaining, helpful, dubious and downright despicable content. Star ratings and written reviews fall somewhere on that scale…
How can we trust others online?
It appears that salespeople are no longer needed; consumers are only too happy to scour the Internet for information on the products they are after, devouring reviews that are almost as likely to have been placed there by the business itself – 5 Stars YAY 😍 (or a competitor – 0 Stars GRR 🤬) as much as a real customer. In fact, it was estimated last year that Australians spent $900 million on ecommerce transactions based on fake reviews!
As consumers are taking it upon themselves to search out the answers they are after, the role of a salesperson is fast becoming about ‘closing the deal’ and getting paid in commissions.
Changing preferences: every customer is different
It’s likely that whilst looking for big-ticket purchases in the past, you have experienced salespeople pushing you towards their current promotions, something they have in stock at present, or – of course – more expensive options.
Did you feel that their advice was tailored to your exact requirements? Or was it more focused on pushing their own sales agenda? True salespeople (and they’re out there… not so rare as a unicorn, more like a dugong) never push; they listen, earn trust and advise.
But if you’re done waiting to meet a friendly dugong down the local shops to help you choose your next E-Bike or Surfski, we’d like to put forward a suggestion of our own – chatting to a previous buyer who actually uses the same product you’re contemplating purchasing!
Someone who is literally incentivised to listen and share real, first-hand experiences with specific products. Nothing else.
Where LOOKB4 comes in
We’re all about trust in ecommerce. We’re building a community-driven shopping site that makes it as easy for you to book a free video call with a real current product user as it is to read the product description or hit ‘buy now’. With us, you can do all three.
But the important thing to note is that the current product user – or ‘Advocate’ – who advises you along the way doesn’t get any extra reward if you do hit the big buy button.
So why are they there? To meet people? They don’t even get to know your surname. Much less any of your contact info. We do reward them for taking the call with you and contributing to our community (e.g. by uploading product descriptions or their own product shots), but that’s about it. Their only interest is in giving you unbiased, unfiltered, honest experiences they have had when using the product you’re interested in.
We’re aware that we can’t replace salespeople, and we’re not looking to do so. We love the professional salesperson experience. We just think that in this age of questionable online advice, another source of trustworthy product information needed unlocking – LOOKB4 is about to tap a wellspring of honest stories from well-intentioned people with no sales agenda all over the world. And you can ask them all your questions – free!
