The difference between customer interest and actual commitment

Most teams rely on surveys, focus groups, and customer interviews to gauge interest in new ideas. People tell you they'd buy your solution, your stakeholders get excited, and you move forward. Then you launch to crickets because stated interest and actual purchase behaviour are completely different things.

What's an Advanced Purchase test?

A commitment-based sale conducted before your product or service is fully available. You're processing actual purchase commitments from customers, but crucially, payment is only charged when you deliver.

This isn't about taking money for products that don't exist. You're securing genuine purchase commitments with real payment details, but customers are only billed when you ship or deliver the service. Most payment processors allow this "authorise now, charge later" approach for up to 30 days.

The psychological difference between someone providing payment details for future billing versus just saying "yes, I'm interested" is enormous. Real commitment reveals real demand.

How a software company validated demand for a £2M platform investment

A software company we work with was considering building an AI-powered analytics dashboard for their existing project management platform. Internal stakeholders were convinced this was their next big opportunity, with customer success teams reporting "constant requests" for better reporting capabilities.

The development team estimated 18 months and £2M to build a comprehensive analytics platform. Leadership wanted validation beyond customer feedback before committing to this investment.

We designed an Advance Purchase test to measure genuine demand. The company:

• Created a detailed specification of the analytics platform features

• Developed pricing for the add-on module (£299/month for teams under 50, £599/month for larger teams)

• Sent personalised outreach to their 200 highest-value existing customers

• Offered "founding customer" early access with a 6-month delivery commitment

• Collected payment authorisations (to be charged upon delivery)

The test revealed critical insights about actual demand. While customer success teams heard "constant requests," the reality was more nuanced:

• 180 customers opened the detailed specification

• 89 customers engaged with sales calls about the platform

• 34 customers expressed strong interest and requested proposals

• 4 customers provided payment authorisation for advance purchase

More importantly, the sales conversations revealed that most customers wanted basic reporting improvements rather than an advanced AI-powered platform. The few who committed to advance purchases had very specific, complex analytics needs.

Based on these insights, the company made a different investment decision:

• Built basic reporting improvements for the core platform (3-month, £200K investment)

• Developed a simplified analytics add-on for general customers (£99/month)

• Created a custom enterprise analytics service for the 4 committed customers

• Avoided the £2M platform investment that would have served a tiny market

This repositioned approach delivered:

• 78% of customers adopted the basic reporting improvements within 6 months

• £940K additional annual revenue from the simplified analytics add-on

• £280K from custom enterprise analytics engagements

• Total ROI of 4x versus the original £2M platform investment

Without the Advance Purchase test, they'd have built an expensive platform for a market that largely wanted simpler, cheaper solutions.

How to run an Advance Purchase test

To run this test effectively, you'll need:

• A clear value proposition with specific pricing

• Ability to process real financial transactions

• A plan for fulfilling purchases when ready

1. Create your purchase experience

Build a simple but professional purchasing flow:

• Landing page describing your offering

• Clear pricing options and packages

• Payment processing capability

• Commitment to delivery timeline

2. Target your ideal customers

Focus on audiences most likely to have genuine purchase intent:

• Existing customer base (if expanding offerings)

• Qualified prospects who've expressed interest

• Customers actively seeking similar solutions

3. Measure real conversion behaviour

Track the complete purchase funnel:

• Page views and engagement time

• Pricing option clicks and exploration

• Purchase process initiation

• Completed transactions and payment processing

• Abandonment points and drop-off reasons

4. Analyse commitment vs. interest

Compare purchase behaviour to previously stated interest:

• How many "interested" prospects actually purchased?

• What drove completed transactions vs. abandonment?

• Were pricing assumptions validated or challenged?

• Which value propositions generated real commitment?

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Running the test before you can actually fulfill purchases

• Using unrealistic "early bird" pricing that skews results

• Targeting audiences without genuine budget authority

• Focusing on total interest rather than actual conversion rates

Try this next week

Take your most promising new venture or service idea. Create a simple advance purchase page with real pricing. Send it to 20 existing customers or qualified prospects who've expressed interest. Measure how many actually commit with payment information.

You'll likely discover that genuine purchase intent is significantly lower than stated interest but far more valuable for decision-making.