What makes consumers choose one brand or product over another?
Look at the latest findings from Edelman’s research. They show that several key factors determine brand relevance. The most influential of these is utility: a brand’s (or solution’s) ability to solve a customer problem.
In other words, shoppers actively choose to invest in products they know will resolve their pain points. The only way to ensure they see your offer as a relevant answer to their needs is to heavily invest in product education to boost product knowledge/understanding.
So, what are the best ways for ecommerce brands to use product education to influence purchase decisions? This article explores six effective strategies to communicate value and build product literacy, with the ultimate goal of encouraging conversions. Let’s dig in.
Product Comparisons Help Shoppers Understand Key Differences
Shoppers practically never consider just one solution to their pain points. Instead, most buying journeys include several viable options that consumers carefully evaluate before making their final purchase decision.
In fact, the latest consumer behavior research shows that people spend more and more time assessing and comparing products before making a final choice. According to EMARKETER, most people research a product at least three separate times before deciding to buy; 22.8% do so five or more times.
This means that most shoppers aren’t afraid to take their time while comparing potential solutions to their pain points. To encourage them to choose your offer, create product knowledge resources that highlight key differences and emphasize the value you bring to the table.
Side-by-side comparisons are a great content format for reaching this goal. Because they help shoppers evaluate a product against alternatives (based on pre-set criteria), they can make it easier for leads to identify the best option for their unique needs. Plus, when done well, they can achieve this outcome relatively quickly, effectively shortening the sales cycle.
To maximize the customer value of product comparison content, don’t focus on product features and specifications alone. Instead, emphasize real-world advantages and use cases that genuinely impact your prospects’ customer experience.
For example, Spotminders regularly uses product comparisons to help its audience understand the difference between its slim tracking cards and conventional tracker solutions. What stands out about this brand’s approach is that it doesn’t highlight technical product features or specifications. Instead, it approaches the entire comparison process from the user’s point of view. So, by pointing out that its tracking cards have a slim wallet-fit design, are wirelessly rechargeable, and work with wallets, bags, and luggage, Spotminders effectively proves its solution’s superiority compared to more popular alternatives.
Buying Guides Help Customers Match Products to Their Needs
Shoppers are always looking for products that fit their unique needs. They don’t want solutions that are only partially effective. They want a perfect match that effectively resolves their pain points, meets their expectations, and aligns with their customer experience criteria.
So, when marketing your offer (whether through educational content or another digital strategy), don’t try to make generic claims that appeal to a broad audience. Instead, highlight product qualities that match your ideal target audience’s requirements.
Buying guides are the ideal product education resource for this purpose because they can organize shopping advice around a variety of customer-centric criteria. These can include intended use, compatibility, and practical requirements. These real-world factors may not directly depend on technical specifications or innovative features. Ultimately, they matter for an enjoyable customer experience, which is one of the best predictors of customer retention and loyalty.
In fact, when you look at the connection between business outcomes and CX quality, you’ll find that 69% of shoppers would consider switching brands after a single unsatisfactory experience. On the flip side, 88% would repurchase after a brand has shown it can effectively resolve their pain points.
So, to produce educational content that positively affects purchase decisions, focus on factors that truly matter to your future customers.
For example, Golf Cart Tire Supply does a tremendous job of using its top rated golf cart tires buying guide to help customers match products to their needs. By explaining that each tire tread performs best on a specific type of terrain, this business makes it easy for shoppers to choose the ideal solution depending on whether they expect to drive on paved roads or rugged terrain.
Ingredient and Material Transparency Helps Shoppers Evaluate Products
One of the most recent emerging shopper behavior trends is increased ingredient awareness.
In the beauty industry, 91% of shoppers consider themselves to be ingredient-aware. 62% of food shoppers check the label more often than they did five years ago. Furthermore, 50% of shoppers consider product materials before purchase, especially those looking to make eco-conscious buying decisions.
However, while listing product ingredients and materials is a great way to inspire purchase decisions, it’s not necessarily enough. Why? Because most buyers want guarantees that what they’re getting truly is what they need. Convince them, and they’ll pay a premium for superior solutions, even despite inflation.
With these trends in mind, one of the best ways to use product education to influence purchase decisions is to be transparent about the ingredients and materials your brand uses in its solutions.
Clear information about product composition helps ecommerce shoppers understand what they’re buying. Evidence-backed explanations and sustainability verifications build confidence in low-trust industries. And transparency around what each ingredient does enhances alignment between consumer needs and product value.
Here’s how Mind Lab Pro employs this product education strategy to encourage conversions. On its homepage, this business first establishes that its solution supports six cognitive pathways. Then, to validate this claim and ensure prospects understand how the supplement does this, Mind Lab Pro explains each of its eleven nootropic ingredients, teaching web visitors what they are, what they do, and outlining the exact areas of mental performance the formula ingredients support.
Independent Product Reviews Provide Evidence for Comparing Options
Brand trust is a major factor that influences purchase decisions. Nevertheless, a growing number of consumers don’t trust brand claims. Instead, they do independent research before every conversion decision. And one of their primary sources of pre-purchase information is social proof.
For example, look at the latest Edelman Trust Barometer (which we already mentioned in this article). You’ll find that 41% of consumers trust people who are not paid ambassadors. In contrast, only 20% of consumers trust what brands have to say about themselves.
With this tendency in mind, one of the best ways to help shoppers evaluate and compare options, independently of manufacturer claims, is to incorporate independent product reviews in your product education resources.
Hands-on testing, standardized performance scores, and clear evaluation criteria can all make your educational content more user-friendly and valuable. So why not make them a key element of your customer education strategy?
Sleep Junkie’s top-rated mattresses round up available is an excellent example of how effectively independent evidence improves customer confidence within the buyer’s journey. In the resource, Sleep Junkie compares products based on support, cooling, motion isolation, durability, and value, giving readers in-depth overviews of each product’s performance. But the content strategy that helps this resource positively affect conversion rates isn’t just its thoroughness. Instead, the article includes third-party, verified trust signals, such as medical content review badges, independent performance ratings, and crystal-clear evaluation factors that help readers understand precisely how Sleep Junkie rates and ranks its recommendations.
Product Demonstrations Show How Features Work in Practice
Great, conversion-inspiring product education can’t rely on copy alone. Yes, educational content can build product understanding and encourage purchases. But in some contexts, words aren’t enough.
The reason for this is simple. Non-expert buyers (practically all audience segments in the awareness and evaluation stages of the buyer’s journey) lack the contextual know-how to imagine complex solutions. They can form a vague idea about how an innovative product works. But they’re also unlikely to recognize the value of a product’s uniqueness unless they have real-world context for why a specific solution works at removing a specific pain point.
In these cases, product demonstrations such as videos and visual tutorials can help shoppers understand how a product works before asking them to commit to a conversion.
For example, showing how setup works, how to operate a solution, or how to maintain a product can be exceptionally useful, and more so than text alone. Additionally, research suggests that 63% of shoppers prefer learning about products by watching videos rather than reading manuals. So why not prioritize their shopping experience and facilitate a product education pathway that aligns with their wishes?
Look at how Lovesac uses an animated video and a set of visual diagrams to show off all the customization possibilities its 6-seater modular sectional allows. Instead of using copy to describe the 20+ ways customers can set up this product in their homes, Lovesac uses a more engaging way to communicate customer options, effectively boosting product understanding and reducing confusion about the solution’s capabilities.
Educational FAQs Address Objections Before Checkout
In some cases, the best way to encourage conversions isn’t to convince leads of your offer’s capacity to remove their pain points. Instead, you might have more success by addressing and resolving pre-purchase objections that stem from insufficient product understanding.
The Frequently Asked Questions content format is, perhaps, one of the best types of content to do this. Not just because it can quickly address doubts about sizing, compatibility, installation, warranty, and maintenance requirements. More importantly, this format is optimized for skimming, allowing web visitors to quickly find the information they need without reading through a ton of text.
To make FAQ content effective at reducing uncertainty and boosting purchase intent, position it in a highly visible section of product pages. The goal isn’t to force shoppers to interact with one more webpage as they look for answers about your offer. Instead, it’s to make the product education process as intuitive and seamless as possible.
Ideally, you want to help shoppers navigate the entire journey without contacting support. Not convinced this is beneficial? Research shows that many buyers prefer a rep-free shopping experience, especially in B2B.
Check out how Caraway includes FAQs on its product pages to remove customer doubts. It gives succinct answers on topics like using oil on ceramic cookware, heat settings, safe handling, and cleaning. In doing so, Caraway doesn’t just educate customers about this type of product. It also helps leads decide whether the solutions fit their needs, boosting their buying confidence and making them more likely to make a positive conversion decision.
Final Thoughts
Product education is always a worthwhile investment, and not only because it positively affects purchase intent. It also earns customer trust and removes shoppers’ risk perception, both of which are crucial considerations in the typical buyer’s journey.
The strategies outlined in this guide are excellent ways to help your target audience better understand your offer. Of course, to maximize the ROI of educational content, prioritize optimizing it for user experience. That way, your potential customers won’t just get informational value when interacting with these guides. They’ll also have an enjoyable brand experience that will further extend into them wanting to convert into customers.
