Empowering C2C Consumers and Motivating Resale

It should become clear that there is a difference between understanding a need and creating a need. In the first case the need is pre-existing and the business owner is identifying it and trying to meet it through their products or services, whereas in the second case the need is fictional, based on the business owner’s agenda. That being said, the concept behind using customer needs and guiding their motivation around purchases is the same in both cases. This concept is based around awareness, consideration, and decision, all processes that take place before purchasing a product or service. Awareness is the first stage consumers undergo before realizing their needs. Awareness can occur naturally, or be induced through clever C2C eCommerce marketing and advertising.

Customers aware of their needs will start considering the available options on how to cover them, and after a period of option evaluation that could last from seconds (for example where to go for food) to days or years (for example which house to buy), a decision on the most appropriate purchase is made. For the C2C eCommerce platforms, customers are usually aware of their needs and they use these platforms mostly during the consideration and decision stage. In some occasions, business owners can offer motivation to their customers and empower them towards transaction and traffic increase. C2C consumer empowerment can have a drastic effect on all levels, as the correct strategy can awake “dormant” needs or create new, “urging” ones, guide customers through their consideration phase, and influence the decision making process. There are some very common C2C eCommerce consumer empowerment techniques that we will examine in the next section.

• One-off subscription discounts: It is very common, especially in businesses operating in the wider fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, to offer a “15-20% off site-wide” discount upon registration of a new customer in their emailing list. This “warm welcome” is shown to be quite profitable, as new customers will be more inclined to shop for more products or more expensive products since they are given the discount. FMCG eCommerce is an excellent entry point for new customers.
• Personalized discounts: Have you ever received a “Happy Birthday, enjoy 20% off today” email? This is another strategy that puts customers in an indulging mood, motivating them to proceed to purchases they had not necessarily planned.
• Rewards: Many C2C eCommerce platforms and individual sellers on a C2C eCommerce platform offer rewards to customers, upon reaching a certain threshold of conversion. A very well-known example is sampling of products when the purchase value is over a certain point.
• Bundles: This is another customer motivation strategy, flirting with customers’ need to get the “best deal” through a platform where sellers are offering an abundance of choice for the same type of product or service. The feeling of saving money and time, and “planning ahead” when purchasing a bundle of complementary or bulk products is very strong and valued by customers. Amazon is quite known for following this empowering technique, as the platform shows to prospective customers of a certain product what other products might be nicely tied with it (e.g. shampoo AND conditioner, or grass trimmer AND spare parts), or what other customers purchased alongside this specific product.
• Promotion of specific products/services: When there are new arrivals, sales of specific products are low, or products are soon to be out of date, special promotions can occur. This is a great strategy of motivating customers to try something they might not be inclined to choose in the first place, boost sales up, or get rid of stagnant stock.
• Coupling of products/services with raving customer reviews: In the consumer’s mind, a company is always trying to sell them something extra, despite their very specific needs. When however, other customers are raving about specific products around existing needs of the individual, or “tickling” dormant needs (such as prestige, the desire to be ahead of the herd), then good things are bound to happen (for the company). Many consumers nowadays, especially in the C2C eCommerce business sector, are motivated to make purchases after seeing product/service reviews from other customers, especially reviews stating specific characteristics or benefits of the product to be purchased.

All the aforementioned C2C eCommerce consumer empowerment strategies might seem to have customer satisfaction as a goal, but further than that, they aim on eCommerce growth, the ultimate goal of every business. Working on a strategy targeting business growth is not as straightforward as deciding on the percentage of discount offered to customers for ultimate profit. With the development of eCommerce and the boom of C2C eCommerce, gauging the needs of the customers, proceeding to segmentation of customers based on their motivations, and catering specifically for each identified consumer cluster is key. In an era of choice abundance, all customers want is to feel unique, valued, and respected from the sellers. In this way, creating loyal and rewarding relationships, where customers feel empowered (yet tactically motivated) to make their choices, C2C eCommerce businesses can experience organic growth.