When You Know How To Identify Customer Needs And Expectations You Can Create Your Message Around Them

Part of building a business is knowing how to identify customer needs and expectations to then market and provide the solution.

Advertising and marketing are a conversation between you the business owner and your potential customers. In many ways the conversation must be initiated by you to gain a reaction from the customer. For that conversation to evolve if you must understand how to identify customer needs and expectations from the outset.

Customers think with their head and their heart in respect to logic and emotion. It can be a see saw battle before the decision is made and the transaction go through. Sometimes as a business owner this can be challenging and frustrating but not when you know what they need. Also, what they desire!

How To Identify Customer Needs And Expectations 

As an example, let’s look at a person who is looking to buy a car. There are so many options available in the marketplace at varying levels of expense. The common thing though is the need for mobility, to get someone from A to B and back again. Also, the desire is there because in many ways a car is a status symbol and people want to feel good.

The expectation from the car they buy can vary though. If they went to a low budget manufacturer, they would get a product that serves their needs. It wouldn’t have all the bells and whistles, comfort of a more expensive car. The expectation of the experience will be lower because they are looking for a means to an end.

On the other hand, if that person walked into a top marque car showroom the expectation would be different. The expectation would have been built up through television commercials and marketing material they had been sent.  Maybe from a friend who has the same car and the feedback they have given.

So, the anticipation and expectation are already set in their mind. When they then sit in that car for the first time, they want those expectations to be met. They want the experience of how comfortable the seats are, the materials that are used. Also, the smoothness of the ride when they drive it.

At then end of the day a car is a vehicle to move people around and the expectation is the experience. Also, you could add into the factor a sense of value for money especially at the lower end.

Let’s delve deeper into the mind of a potential customer to understand more about how they think!

How To Identify Customer Needs And Expectations Starts With Communicating

The conversations that you have with your customers will give you many insights at many different levels. Whether it is at the initial contact when they may only be a lead or a prospect. Then moving on through the stages to when they first purchase and then need customer support.

The first thing to do is listen to what they are saying as this will hold many golden nuggets for you. Then you can ask the right questions to differentiate and target their specific needs or wants.

Most customers will know what they either need or want but don’t know how to express it in conversation. Therefore, it may require a specific approach from you to what they say. In some circumstances this may result from the fact they don’t understand your terminology in respect to your products.

Then it’s a matter of sitting down with them to remove any barriers that they have put up. It could as simple as talking to them in a more human language that they fully understand. Remove any techno babble from the conversation and concentrate more on the benefits the product gives.

Ask them what they want the product to do for them and then concentrate on the benefits. It is a process where you can filter out whether the customer wants or needs the product. It may mean that the customer wants it rather than has a specific need for it which makes the benefits somewhat redundant.

Identify the specific problem the customers have because at the initial stage the customer may not fully understand this. When you understand this then the benefits of your products and services will become obvious to that person.

Do You Offer Value For Money? 

This is one topic that needs to be addressed and that is how much they have to spend. You will know your own value and the value of your products and services. However, the customer must understand the value for money they are receiving from you. T

hey may have done some research on your competitors which is what you must also do. Be aware of the marketplace place around you so you can justify the price you are asking if you need to.

Back to the car analogy for a moment. There are two cars that do the same thing but yours is $20,000 more than the other. What are the benefits of yours that overrides the other and will it match the need or want for your customer?

Analyse The Feedback That Your Customers Give You

This is often an area that many business overlooks but by doing that they leave so much on the table. Both in monetary terms and data collection for future reference. The feedback you customers give you is like an encyclopaedia on their habits, concerns and buying patterns.

Now there are many strategic and technical ways that you can do this, and it starts with following up after purchase. If time allows you to do so, then call them up and make sure that everything is ok, and they are happy with their purchase. This could be something you do if you are selling big ticket items because your sales volume will be lower.

If this is not possible then set up a system that sends out customer feedback survey forms. Not everyone will reply to them and you must expect that to happen. The ones who do reply should be analysed and if any action needs to be taken you must act upon it.

Your website is a perfect place to gather the feedback that you require. Having facilities such as a comment box or a contact form prove very effective. It is somewhere that people can quickly leave their opinions and again this is a goldmine moving forward.

Encourage your customers to interact with you on your social media channels. Here you can hold surveys and polls to gather information on what you have done right and where improvements can be made.

Finally approaching your customers and ask them if they would mind giving you a testimonial. Video ones are more powerful if you can get them, but written ones are just as effective. Then you can place them on your website as social proof for other people to see.

Do You Have Loyal Customers? 

One of the metrics you should be aware of is how loyal your customers are. Are they one hit wonders or do they keep coming back time and time again? This is the biggest indicator as to whether you have been able to identify your customers needs and expectations.

This is more clinical data that any feedback that you may receive because it speaks for itself. You can set up process within your systems that will give you a scoring system to work from.

Things like reviews, customer satisfaction and customer service both on your website and social channels. Also, this can be shown if you are using marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay.

Then you must look at customer retention especially if you have a subscription business model. How long are they sticking with you and what you can do to improve it. That is also an indicator of the lifetime value of your customers. This is important so you know exactly how much you can afford to spend to acquire them.

Then look at the repeat purchase rate and the rate where people buy your upsells during the checkout and funnel stages. Finally look at you return or refund rates which you will have. If they are high, then there is something wrong with your products and services. Either they are not matching what the customer need or meeting their expectations. Or it could be both which you must work on.

How Do You Position Yourself? 

Everything I have shared with you today relies heavily on how you position yourself in the marketplace. Are you coming from a place of authenticity and authority so you audience can begin to know, like and trust you?

People buy from people and it is important that they know who you are and where you have come from. When you position yourself in a way that they feel you understand their needs and you can help them you will attract them.

My own Build Your AU mastermind explores the techniques and strategies to help you achieve this position. I have all the tools and resources that will help you understand how to identify customer needs and expectations. To find out more about this process I have a video series which shows you how everything comes together. If this is something that interests, you then please click here and register your details.

Helping you build your authenticity, authority and audience.

Trish Davies

Build Your AU