Understanding the 7 Most Common Customer Needs and How To Meet Them

Stefen Smith
A lot of businesses make the mistake of focusing on how great their products and services are when marketing to customers. While this may seem like the best way to convince people to do business with you, it’s not. Instead, it’s best to develop a customer focus in your marketing techniques. Customer-focused marketing is when you determine the needs and wants of your customers and use those needs to drive your marketing. If you aren’t sure what your customer needs are or how to meet them, you probably won’t be able to create a very effective marketing campaign.

Identifying Customer Needs

Identifying the needs of your customers may seem tricky at first, but it’s not as hard as you might think. The key is to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience.

Instead of telling your customers how great and high-quality your products are or how many awards you’ve won, focus your marketing on how your products can specifically meet your customers’ needs. Here are the seven most common customer needs you should learn how to identify and meet.  

1. Reliability

No one wants to spend money on a product or service that isn’t reliable.

With the prevalence of online selling, it can be hard for customers to figure out which companies and products are reliable and which are cheap knock-offs of better versions.

To help fill the need for reliable products in your customers’ lives, make sure everything you offer is useful and made with high-quality materials and workmanship. The products you sell should be made to last for a reasonable amount of time.

2. Convenience

One of the most common customer needs is convenience.

Modern life is so hectic and full of busy schedules, so customers are always looking for products and services that can make life easier.

No matter what type of product you sell, if you can make sure it’s convenient for customers, you’re on the right track.

3. Price

Most people are on a budget these days, so it’s important to offer products and services that people can afford.

Most people are very concerned about getting the best deal when they shop for products online or in brick-and-mortar stores. If you price things too high, they’re likely to go elsewhere.

Approximately 60% of customers consider the price above all other factors when deciding whether or not to make a purchase.

So if you plan to compete with other companies that offer similar goods or services, you need to price your items accordingly in order to meet customer needs and expectations.  

4. Transparency

There is a huge problem with transparency in business these days. A lot of online businesses take fake pictures of their products and post fake reviews to try to get people to buy from them.

While you may trick a few people this way, you won’t gain a loyal following or a reliable reputation this way.

People are very wary about the purchases they choose to make because they don’t want to get burned by fake products or hidden fees.

To earn the trust of your customers, make sure you are always transparent.

Don’t try to sneak a packaging fee into the total price when they check out or make them think they’re getting a higher-quality product than you actually send to them.

Transparency and honesty will go a long way toward helping you earn repeat business.  

5. Experience

People have a lot of things to do with their time, and they’re not willing to waste it on a website that doesn’t load quickly or that isn’t easy to navigate.

If you want to meet the top customer needs on your website, make sure you create a user-friendly experience. The process of buying goods or services from you needs to be clear and straightforward.

In addition to ensuring your customers have a good buying experience, you also need to make sure that any interactions they have with your customer service department are positive.

More than half of people who have a bad customer experience with a company report that they will never do business with the same company again. You don’t want that to happen to you, so make sure you’re always treating your customers like gold.  

6. Information

Another one of the top customer needs in the modern era is access to information about your products and services.

Educating your customers about your products is a great way to help them make the best purchasing decisions for their needs.

You can educate products through your social media posts, blog posts, and website pages. The more information you make available, the better.

Along those same lines, communication is also key when it comes to keeping customers happy.

If your customers reach out to you through email, via your social media channels, or through your website, make sure you respond promptly.

The longer you take to answer, the more likely your customer is to move on to one of your competitors.

7. Purchasing Options

When it comes time for your customer to purchase a product or service from you, make the process as easy as possible by giving multiple payment options. Your customer should be able to choose whether to pay by credit card, PayPal, or other popular payment services.

You may also want to give your customers various product subscription options. One-time purchase options or monthly subscriptions can be helpful for customers who like freedom of choice when it comes to the way they pay for products and how often they receive them.

Let Us Help You Meet Your Customer Needs

Once you understand the most common customer needs, you can make a plan for how you will meet those needs.

Your marketing approach should revolve around how you can make life easier for your customers and how you can earn their trust by being transparent and reliable.

You also want to become their go-to source for industry information.

If you need help honing in your marketing approach to best meet the needs of your audience, Seer Productions can help.

From pinpointing your audience to helping you reach them through masterful storytelling, we can do it all.

Contact us to learn more or take some time to review our client’s stories to determine whether we’ll be a good fit for you.

Sources:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-customer-focus-in-marketing-definition-strategies-examples.html

https://www.powerreviews.com/blog/customer-needs/