What customers want—and what they actually need—are frequently not the same thing. The customer wants their symptoms addressed, but they don’t want to engage with the lasting (costlier, disruptive, lengthy) solution. This push and pull between want and need is, in part, what has given marketing a bad name, since it commonly addresses the “want”.
There is a fine line to walk between the customer’s needs and wants. They are in a buying frame of mind when they are aware of their problem. The want it to go away. The organization that promises the easiest, fastest, and most effective solution within financial reach typically wins. No matter what solution the organization offers, it is rare for customers to be aware of their actual need.
For example, an organization may be struggling with feeling commoditized, and what they want is more impactful email copy. What they need is emotional connections with their own customers that transcend price sensitivities. They don’t know to even ask for such a thing at that point. They just want better emails, pronto.
How To Be What Customers Want
The better any organization is at what it does, the harder it can be to keep in mind the original wants customers have when they are ready to engage. There is an internal disdain customer ignorance of the solution. This shows up when an organization says things like:
Customers don’t understand what we really do.
They don’t want to buy what we can provide.
It’s difficult to explain the depth of our services.
WORST: I could help them, if they would only let me.
The problem is actually one of arrogance. We are all teachers for one another, and while the solution provider can certainly teach the customer how to implement a solution instead of a cosmetic fix, the customer can also teach the organization their own decision process.
The way to meet customers where they are at the moment they engage is, plain and simple, to ask. Of course, research studies are one method to use. Another is providing a set of questions to the organization’s front line. These questions might include:
What (problem/awareness) brought you here today?
You have choices. What made you choose us?
How will you feel differently as a result of working with or buying from us?
What is the most important thing to you in an organization like ours?
These questions can be formal or informal, but the answers should shape all outbound communications. These are your customers. They will give you the right words. Use them. And then deliver on it, or you will undermine anything else you do.
Building the Bridge From Want to Need
Not every customer is ready to have their needs addressed. Many are perfectly happy addressing (and then re-addressing) their wants ad nauseam. These customers aren’t actually looking for a transformation. For them, improving their symptoms is perfectly satisfactory, without any effort to identify or heal the underlying cause. Yes, it is a waste of money and effort, but that is all they are ready to do.
Knowing this, it is important to be willing to meet customers where they are, and not try to force them into solution mode too fast. This allows the organization to build a relationship of trust. It may seem disingenuous, but ultimately this is an exercise in listening, asking questions, posing hypotheticals, and then inviting more feedback.
Returning to the example of the customer who wants the email campaign copy refresh – a conversation about what to say in the emails quickly turns to what their customers struggle with. As a result, it becomes clear how to build emotional bridges, not only in the email, but in a number of outbound communications. An entire set of new talking points is born.
Ironically, many marketing agencies are so focused on their strategic approach, they miss the opportunity to connect with their own customers when presented with a tactical request. Similarly, many churches are so focused on their spiritual transformation; they miss the opportunity to connect with their members who are intent on healing emotional scars. Many organizations have their version of this arrogance and blindness.
Every organization holds some piece of the solution, and is eager to get it in as many customers’ hands as possible, as fast as possible. That’s what we all want. Recognizing that direct access to that solution is often not a realistic first step in a customer’s journey actually accelerates the process. That’s what we need to remember.