What Do Your Customers Really Need?

When was the last time you bought tires? If you're like most people, shopping for tires is not the most exciting experience.

We buy tires because we have to. We are not usually thrilled at shelling out a large chunk of money for something as un-glamorous as tires. But we do it anyway.

Why?

We think we need tires. But, what we really need is safety.

When your mechanic tells you your old tires are unreliable, even dangerous, your priorities suddenly change. You put aside other plans, like buying a new plasma TV, because your need to be safe on the road is more important.

What's all this talk about tires? Isn't this an article about customer needs?

Customers don't need what you are trying to sell them. They do, however, have deep, universal, human needs that they are trying to satisfy. You will be able to market and sell more effectively if you can identify the needs of your customers, and how your products helps to satisfy those needs..

Sometimes, it gets a little tricky to sort out.

Once you realize you need tires, how do you decide which ones to buy? Well, if safety is such a priority, you would buy the high-end tires with the best performance in all kinds of weather conditions.

However, buying the highest quality tires, may threaten with your financial security, leaving you short of resources to meet other basic needs.

On the other hand, perhaps your need for financial security is satisfied, and you can afford the high-performance tires. Your need for status may be your primary motivator. You might decide that new rims for your Audi help you satisfy your need for status, esteem and respect.

We are all trying to satisfy common human needs. Often, we buy things to satisfy those needs.

Abraham Maslow developed the theory of a hierarchy of human needs. He believed that people have five levels of needs:

1. Physiological (biological)
2. Safety
3. Love/Belonging
4. Status (Esteem)
5. Actualization.

According to his theory, we must have our basic, lower level, physiological needs met before we can move on to higher level needs.

So, when it comes to buying tires, we will not be concerned with status, unless our lower level need for safety and security is satisfied.

What do your customers really need?

Does your product meet basic physical needs? Many consumer products connect with our needs for love, belonging and status. More and more, customers are searching for products that help them in their search for self-actualization and spiritual meaning.

Take some time to consider where your products fit in. Like tires, your product line may meet customer needs at more than one level. When you understand those needs, you will be more effective at creating marketing and promotions that appeal to your target market.

Your customers don't want you to try to sell them what they don't need. They do want you to understand their needs, and help them find what they are looking for.


Want to know more about creating a store that meets customer needs? Download Attracting Customers now. It's free.

Is Your Store Failing to Connect with Customers?

Imagine yourself walking past a row of shops on a street. Some of the stores you walk by without even a glance. But one catches your attention. Something in the window makes you stop for a moment to take a look.

Something has grabbed you and pulled you out of your conversation, or train of thought, and stopped you. Just briefly. Long enough to think, "I like that," or "That looks interesting."

The next thing you know, you see a couple of other interesting things in the window. You look past the display into the store. You think, "I'll check it out for a minute."

You open the door and step inside. You love what you see. "What a great place! I'll look around for a minute." You see something that would look amazing in your house. You move from one display to the next, imagining what your life would look like with some of these beautiful things.

You feel relaxed. Happy. You love the atmosphere. This is what you want in your life. This is something you've been looking for. You're falling in love.

What makes this store different? Why do you like it so much?

Connection.

The store connects and resonates with you. It fits with your imagined ideal of what you would like for your life.

Yes, the product is something you would love to have. But it's not just the product. It's how you feel. You feel more beautiful, sexier, happier, or more fun when you imagine this product as yours.

How you feel about the product is influenced by the store atmosphere. It puts you in a mood you enjoy. Not only do you like the merchandise, but you like the idea of shopping here. You want to be here. You want to come back. You want to buy here.

Are you making this connection with your shoppers? Does your store resonate with them?

A store that resonates with shoppers:

1. Isn't for everyone.

We are all unique. We all have different tastes. What one person likes, another dislikes. If you try to appeal to everyone, you will end up with a store that doesn't attract anybody. A successful store appeals to a specific group of people with certain tastes and interests in common.

Determine who your best customers are and work to attract to others like them.

2. Has something their customers need.

Face it. Shoppers can probably find a product like yours somewhere else. They don't need your product. What they need is something else. Maybe it's security. Enjoyment. Relief from stress. One of the most common needs that people are seeking to satisfy is the need for status, or respect.

Figure out what your customers really need. Then sell it to them.

3. Has personality.

A store just like all the others is boring. A great store has character and flair. It's personality is conveyed through color, design, fixtures, lighting, signage, advertising and people. It has a quality that is unique and different.

Being different is a risk. But in retail, being the same as everyone else, is certain death.

Express your personality. And do it well.


If you want your store to resonate with your customers, show them what you have in common. Show them you understand them and what they need. Romance them. Make them feel beautiful, sexy, important, safe or happy.

Sounds like a relationship, doesn't it? It is.