Non-Standard Buying Decisions of Poles – Survey Report

Attention Marketing Research (a combination of know-how and
experience of PMR Consulting & Research market researchers and
Attention Marketing consultants) analysed the sources from which Poles
get information about products and services before they make important,
extraordinary buying decisions. The conclusions clearly show that
advertisements are no longer the most important tool of sales
communication and it is direct communication and loyal communities of
satisfied customers that are becoming more and more significant.  

Examples
of non-standard products include a washing machine, refrigerator,
television set, record player or car, as these are products that we
purchase relatively seldom. 78 percent of the survey participants
pointed out that before buying a non-standard product or service they
first gather information about them. This factor is hardly affected by
the gender of the consumers (men 79 percent, women 77 percent). 

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Following
an analysis of the results one may, however, draw a conclusion that the
younger, the better educated and the more affluent the customers, the
more often they seek information about products and services when
preparing to make an important buying decision.  

“Younger (up to
34 years old) and more affluent customers, particularly those from big
cities, are more conscious about their shopping”, explains Anna Grabara,
Senior Research Executive of PMR Consulting & Research. “They are
also more aware of the influence that various information sources have
on them. Buying new items, particularly those more expensive ones, is,
for them, an element of shaping their lifestyle, not just pure
satisfaction of their needs. When looking for their preferred products,
they do not mainly focus on the price and therefore, they more
intensively seek information about products, not only to spend little
but to spend well.  

Credibility of Information  

PMR
Consulting & Research pollsters also asked Polish consumers to
assess credibility of individual sources of information about products
and services. The sources were divided into three groups: the people we
know, meaning our family, friends, including Facebook friends, the
people we do not know: bloggers, vloggers, guides, and producers, who
communicate with consumers via commercials or directly, via their web
sites or fanpages.  

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According to the respondents the most
credible and reliable source of information about products and services
is the family. 41 percent of the respondents found it very credible,
and another 25 percent – rather credible. Friends are, according to
Poles, nearly as credible as the family – respectively, 25 percent of
the respondents selected here the answer “very credible”, and 31 percent
– “rather credible”. The survey participants assigned a much poorer
assessment to responses their friends give when answering questions on
Facebook. Only 8 percent of consumers found them very credible, 21
percent – rather credible, while as much as 28 percent found these
responses completely non-credible and 15 percent – rather non-credible.

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“The
results confirm one of the trends stating that the so-called
micro-influencers matter even more than before. Communication falls one
level down; over celebrities and experts we prefer family and friends.
It’s encouraging that despite the fact we spend more time online, direct
relations still evoke greater trust and represent a greater value.
Internet is a flat medium, more and more often associated with fake
facts which we do not verify. Obviously, this is not a new trend but it
has gained a new meaning today, which might spread even more, so it is
worthwhile to watch it carefully”, said Adam Sanocki, Managing Partner
in Attention Marketing.

In the second group – the sources
represented by people we do not know personally – Poles trust the most
opinions and information published by internet users directly below
product or service descriptions (reviews) and on internet forums. They
were regarded as a very credible source by, respectively, 21 and 17
percent of the respondents, and as rather credible – by 29 and 31
percent. Less credible and reliable Poles found traditional guides and
online guides (44 percent of positive responses), the press (37 percent
of positive responses) and blogs and vlogs (41 percent of positive
responses).

“Finding yourself within the loads and loads of
information about products today requires true competence which is a
characteristic of younger and better educated consumers. They are those
who demonstrate greater trust in information coming from people they do
not know personally and from producers themselves”, says Anna Grabara of
PMR Consulting & Research. “They are better finding themselves
among online sources, which is why they are able to find the information
they need. In cities the role of social bonds becomes more vital than
in villages or towns, so the influence of recommendations is also
carried over to the internet. Therefore, with this group of consumers –
young, educated people in big cities – you must communicate via multiple
channels.”  

We Do Not Trust Advertisements  

Interesting
conclusions may be drawn from the analysis of responses regarding the
last group of sources related directly to the product manufacturer or
service provider. Consumers found all the forms of advertising
non-credible sources of information. TV commercials were regarded as
completely not credible by as many as 45 percent of the respondents,
rather not credible – by 25 percent. As regards outdoor ads, the results
were 44 and 25 percent, respectively, and as for online ads – 43 and 25
percent. However, the survey showed that although the consumers do not
treat advertisements as credible or reliable sources of information that
could help them make the right buying decisions, they more appreciate
credibility of information available on the web sites of the
manufacturers and service providers.  

“Our research clearly
demonstrates a very important phenomenon – advertising no longer affects
consumers’ buying decisions to the extent it used to in the past.
People more consciously select their information sources and the type of
contents they find useful in their everyday lives. On the other hand,
they filter out contents they find unimportant. This is the reason why
the establishment of the world Coalition for Better Ads was purposeful.
The members of the coalition declared to publish, on their web sites,
ads that meet strict requirements regarding aesthetics, and – what’s
most important – regarding the type of contents, their blatancy and user
activity tracking. This important change was forced by consumers
themselves, which also determines future communication and marketing
strategies supporting sale of products or performance of services on the
basis of individual behaviours and preferences of consumers”, stressed
Maciej Sokołowski, Attention Marketing Partner.

According to 15
percent of the respondents, the web site of the manufacturer or service
provider is a very credible source of information, while 25 percent of
them found the web site a rather credible source of information about
products and services.  

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“You could dare to
conclude that for those Polish consumers who are considering a major
purchase, sales communication from the manufacturer or service provider
is the most credible when the company formulates it without resorting to
commercial persuasion”, comments Dawid Michnik, Partner in Attention
Marketing. “This may serve as a guideline for business decision-makers
who formulate sales strategies: let’s talk directly to our Customers,
let’s formulate the sales communication without resorting to the jargon
of commercials and marketing persuasion focusing on convincing to buy.
Let’s speak the language of benefits and let the customers find their
way.”  

Anna Grabara of PMR Consulting & Research also points
out that the young respondents are more aware of the impact of ads on
buying decisions. “Fewer of them reject advertising as such and they are
more prone to admit that it does affect their buying decisions to a
certain extent. At the same time, advertising is treated as only one of
many information sources they will reach out to, but by no means is it
the most credible. Ads, if properly formulated, placed in the right
context and supplemented with other messages about the product, may be
effective”, the expert says.  

Business Appeals to People  

Companies
are traditionally divided into those operating in B2B (business to
business) and B2C (business to consumer) models. The former manufacture
products and provide services for business customers: companies or
institutions. The latter target their offers at a broad spectrum of
consumers. In the opinion of Dawid Michnik, Partner in Attention
Marketing consulting firm, this division and traditional communication
and sale tools resulting from it address the challenges of today’s fast
changing market to a smaller and smaller degree.  

“Each customer,
whether a consumer or a manager selecting the contractor, is a
conscious individual participating in the process of communication. When
planning a major purchase, they often know what they need and are put
off by shallow advertisements bluntly convincing them to make the
purchase. They expect reliable information about the product or service,
addressing their actual needs and

expectations,” says Dawid
Michnik of Attention Marketing. “The growing awareness of consumers is
accompanied by the evolution of methods of communication with those
consumers. More and more often, the most mature organisations give up
traditional B2B and B2C models to embrace B2H, or Business to Human
model, which puts the target of the sale communication and their
individual needs first.  

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