Simonson & Rosen’s Influence Mix asserts that the more a person is influenced by one of the above factors, the less influence the other factors will have over a buying decision. In order to optimize a company’s influence over buying decisions, it is important to identify which factor is most influential and then create a marketing strategy to fit that factor.

The three factors influencing a customer’s decision are described in detail below:

1. Prior Preferences, Beliefs and Experiences (P): These purchases are usually low risk formed by habit and prior experience with a product. They mostly include routine purchases such as groceries and detergents.
2. Information from Marketers (M): This purchasing factor is focused on emotional purchases of higher-end goods such as cars and jewelry and can be highly influenced by marketing campaigns. It is also used to persuade customers to switch from brands they know and try something new.
3. Input From Other People (O): This third factor is where social media and online influence come into play. Potential customers look to online reviews for relatively important purchases such as phones and electronics. They want to be reassured that they product they buy will have a high level of reliability, quality and functionality, and are willing to put in the time to research these factors online.

When determining which strategy to use, a company should identify what type of marketing strategy will work best for the kind of product it is trying to sell. Once that is determined, the company should adopt one of the three strategies which best aligns with their product and develop a marketing strategy based on that factor. By researching how consumers will be making a buying decision on your product, determining the best marketing strategy will be much easier.

When considering how to develop a product or service, strategy teams should look at what influences particular customers or clients to buy. The world is changing incredibly fast, and because of technology consumers are changing the way that they engage with and purchase from brands. Various types of market surveys and focus groups can be used to provide insights, data and additional support when using the Simonson & Rosen’s Influence Mix method. The new online Simonson and Rosen’s Influence Mix template from Praxie is a tool to help marketers think about the impact of social media sites on customers’ purchasing decisions in order to help them develop a successful marketing strategy.  

The Influence Matrix helps strategy teams develop and brainstorm ideas around how best to influence and attract users using social media and digital media channels. Get started with our Simonson & Rosen’s Influence Mix method template. 

How to use it: 

1. Outline your target customer’s core needs and what they are seeking from specific products and/or services.  
2. Use this information to complete the PMO areas of focus to highlight what most influences their purchase decisions. 
3. Create an action plan based on building your Influence Mix insights and connect them to your strategy and marketing plans. 

Unlike most traditional strategy techniques, Praxie’s online Influence Mix tools allow any team or organization to instantly begin working with our web templates and input forms. Our digital platform goes far beyond other software tools by including progress dashboards, data integration from existing documents or other SaaS software, elegant intuitive designs, and full access on any desktop or mobile device.