Don’t Be a Source of Course Remorse
There’s no one among us who hasn’t suffered from “buyer’s remorse” for one reason or another. But what factors affect that feeling of buyer’s remorse?
Reasons for Buyer’s Remorse:
- Conflicting desires: “I shouldn’t have booked a spa day. I promised myself I was in saving mode!” [Conflicting desires]
- Failing to consider your options: “If I’d shopped around more, I bet I could have found an even better laptop at a lower price.”
- Impulse purchases: “I have to stop buying things I didn’t intend to!”
- Something you don’t need: “Ugh, did I really need another handbag?!”
[This one is tricky. There is a very fine line between wanting and needing a new handbag!]
Intensity of Buyer’s Remorse:
Buyer’s remorse varies by intensity, as well as by reason. There’s the little twinge of discomfort over a minor purchase. You know, for those things that aren’t super important to you, don’t cost a lot, and don’t involve a long-term “relationship” with the purchase. A little disappointment. No biggie.
But then there’s the “Holy #$%&! What was I thinking?!” that comes with more expensive or more involved purchases. This is more than a bit of disappointment. A way bigger deal and stronger negative emotions knocking you around.
For example, which is going to feel worse: Wishing you’d ordered the fish instead of the steak for dinner OR wishing you’d invested in a higher-priced blender that would actually make your daily smoothies smooth?
Effort’s Effect on Buyer’s Remorse:
Finally, the “effort” involved affects your feelings about the purchase. Your effort is what you invested in the purchase, which could be time, money, energy, etc. Buyer’s remorse gets maxed out when the purchase involves high effort but low reward.
What Does This Have to Do with Courses?
Courses run the gamut in price, length, complexity, payoff, and so on. But even the simplest, most affordable courses require the buyer to part with their money and to invest their time and energy into the program. Basically, the participant’s (buyer’s) effort is going to be pretty high, no matter the specifics of the course.
So what happens if they’re disappointed by the outcome of the course? What if their reward is low?
Worst case, they may ask for their money back. Even if it doesn’t come to that, you do not want to leave your participants feeling buyer’s remorse from your course. You want them to attain high rewards for their investment in your program. You want them to achieve the promise of your course – because that is what you are selling. It’s what you do to help people. You want for them to have the best experience possible. You want them to be flying high when they’re done with your course and they can apply what they’ve learned, right?!
How Do Your Avoid “Course Remorse”?
Create a course with content that’s laser-focused on the problem your audience is looking to solve.
Ensure your course helps them implement and execute.
Deliver a course that allows them to experience real transformation.
Here are three, super-simple course design tips for avoiding course remorse:
- Have ONE, clearly stated course objective.
- Filter every piece of course content through that one learning objective.
- Provide participants with ways to practice and apply what they’re learning.