I have spent some time as a business consultant, helping small business owners.  While preparing to give a lecture on marketing to a group of entrepreneurs in CA it dawned on me that I could summarize the buying cycle process by comparing it to a street performer’s show.  To keep everybody on the same page, the buying cycle process is broken down to three phases, awareness, consideration, and action.  If a company wants you to purchase their product, they must first make you aware of it (e.g. “We sell Coke”).  The next step is consideration, this is where the company hopes you consider Coke when you get thirsty. Finally, they need you to take action and buy Coke.  The company will try to push you to take action because they have the best prices, or the best quality, the item is on sale, or some other reason. 

            That entire process that some companies spend millions of dollars and months of advertising to achieve, I can accomplish it in a 30-minute street performing magic show.  I have spent some time as a busker, performing magic on streets in Savanah, GA; New Orleans, LA; and other cities for a living.  Street performers start by making you aware that they are about to start a show.  This is accomplished by sound, movement, and/or color.  Setting up their equipment, blowing a whistle, hollering, announcing the start of the show, colorful costume, and other techniques are used to let you know that they are there.  They next need you to consider stopping and watching the show, I feel the most difficult part.  Using anticipation of a big finale, the concept of a crowd draws a crowd, sound of laughter and rounds of applause are used to help get pedestrians to stop.  Lastly, the performer will “pass the hat” and ask for tips, the action part of this process.  Throughout the show, most performers remind the spectators that tips will be collected at the end.  Usually, the performer will recap the show and pull at the spectators’ heart strings. 

Hopefully you were able to see the connection, the awareness, consideration, and action of the buying process brought to life in a street performance. Feel free to contact me for more information about this process.