While the word “conversion” is usually used in a religious context, it doesn’t have to be. It just means to change from one way of thinking and behaving to another way of thinking and behaving. But “conversion” is the term we ingrain into each of our Shopper Converters™ so they fully understand their mission in each of our marketing campaigns.

We view it as a 5-step process.

Step 1: The Suspect
Definition from Merriam-Webster (suspect –noun-, one that is suspected; especially: a person suspected of a crime)

In the context of a retail environment, we train our Shopper Converters™ to consider every person entering a store or a retail environment as a Suspect. Simply put, their job is to quickly assess if the Suspect (given our specific mandate) qualifies for Step 2.

Step 2: The Prospect
Definition from Merriam-Webster (prospect –noun-, Etymology: Middle English, from Latin prospectus view, prospect, from prospicere, to look forward, exercise foresight)

I love the look forward part of that definition because this is where it truly gets interesting. Our staff qualifies the Prospect to see if he or she has what it takes to move on to the critical Step 3.

Step 3: The Buyer
Definition from Merriam-Webster (buyer –noun-, one that performs the action of purchasing)

Isn’t that beautiful? “The action of purchasing”!  Our Shopper Converters are trained to convert Prospects into real-time buyers through face-to-face interaction with them. That’s what’s at the core of the conversion process.  But what still remains is Step 4.

Step 4: The Advocator
Definition from Merriam-Webster (advocate – noun-, to plead in favor of)

If only we could identify a brand advocator on the spot! That would be too good to be true. However, the post-execution strategies and the technology we use can often help us let our brand partners know which of the individuals we’ve entered into our database have the potential to become advocators. Because when we have new advocators among the very people who consume a product, that product has literally taken on a life of its own.  The necessity for providing unique and meaningful experiences to consumers justifies the constant quest for new advocators.

Step 5: The Evangelist
Definition from Merriam-Webster (evangelist -noun-, an enthusiastic advocate)

The Evangelist is the Holy Grail for any marketer, right? These guys will not only make sales for you, but are willing to pay you to buy more of your products. They are to Apple what people attending MacWorldExpo are! Working in conjunction with our brand partners, we analyze and scrutinize the databases of our events to find likely Evangelists. We are your link to them. We help the Evangelists keep the faithful, well, faithful.

And that’s the Shopper Converters™ Process.