Deciphering what customers want.

Customers can be business leaders, employees and yes, people like you and me. Building the sales funnel to drive more prospects and in turn to exchange cash for a tangible or intangible benefit (the product), can overlook what customers want. Ask yourself, why do people buy your brand?

It could well be aspirational, more resource, time or less hassle, but in reality, its what is most important to that person at that moment in their life, project or career.

So how do we uncover those hidden gems? Simple: Find out what they want to achieve as a result of buying the product or service you are planning on offering. At the fuzzy end of product design and development, it is easy to design what we think people will want, rather than allowing them to do what they are trying to achieve.

Does you product/ service deliver that result? More leisure time, more design time, quicker decision making, easier installation, more kudos with the boss or even a promotion. The outcome of buying branded clothing and watches can make a person feel good, part of something, aspiring to be successful. ?Buying an ecofriendly brand can have the desired outcome of ‘feeling I am doing my bit for the environment’.

Let’s face it, it's the decision we make in our day to day jobs that can have dramatic effect. The more time we spend understanding what the person needs to see as an outcome and how their investment (in you or a product) will help them with this quest, the more we will understand the value of what we do.

And value is key. A service or product without value will never be in the mind of the buyer. The buyer will ask WIIFM (what’s in it for me). They will need to be able to understand what value you and your products bring them, how it will help them achieve their goals and make them and their project/company a success.

It doesn’t matter if the product is physical (tangible) or a service (tangible or intangible), what matters is that as a result of receiving a product/ service, there is benefit, a positive result, an expected outcome.

Fail along the way to deliver the promise and seller beware. Customers will judge you every step of the way, as a failure on your side may be catastrophic to the individual, team or company you are serving. If the promise is ‘battery lasts 5 days’, make sure you deliver on this, time after time. If 4 days means dissatisfaction in a sensitive market, just think of the consequences (for your customer and for you).

Of course, ‘factors beyond our control’ do come into play now and then. We just have to ready for them. React quickly, as you can add even more value from rescuing a situation and getting the customer back on track. Delivering on the customer promise means happy customers, happy companies and repeat business. And don't forget to tell your other customers of your success!

Design your product, service and your teams to always think about the promise to the customer, what's important to them, how it adds value and what the expected result is.

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