Your business may have a good product, but nobody will buy it if it is not what they need. The majority of customers when consider buying a product or not will think “Do I need this?” and if the answer is no, they will not look at it again. Even if you already define your target customers, there is nothing sure about if they will buy your product or not. That is why it is important to identify your customers’ needs. Once you have such information, you will be able to make changes to your product and campaign so that your product meets your targets customers’ needs.
First of all, you need to understand more about your clients. Below are eight things to know your target customers.
Eight Things To Understand Your Customers
Who your customers are
In your database of individual buyers, there should be information on age, marital status, occupation, and the type of customer they are (loyal, discount, impulse, need-based, or wandering). Business and industrial customers often buy in large quantity with specific requirements of their own. You should also consider such criteria.
Why you need this information? These will decide how you should tailor your product and service to meet their needs. Once you are what they need, they will have no choice but buy your products and service.
Why they buy
Understanding the reason why customers purchase a range of product is how you know what they need. You can be easier to match their needs to what benefits you can offer them.
When they buy
It is always timing that is the final deciding factor. If you introduce your product to customers when they have not needed it (even though you know they will), there is a low chance that they will ever buy it. Presenting the product to the right customers at the right time will increase the prospect of success. It is critical in deciding product launch time.
How they buy
Find out from which channel do you customers prefer to buy. If most of your target customers prefer face-to-face purchase, and you are selling the product online or via TV, you will lose a considerable number of buyers without even noticing. Make sure to study how customers enjoy shopping and give them the advertising that can reach them.
How much they spend
Studying customers’ spending pattern not only provides you information about their consumer behavior but also of economic, household, social and market trends. If you know how much they are willing to spend, you can adjust the size, weight, and price of the product to meet customers’ financial ability.
What makes them feel good about buying
Buying is never about the product only. The shopping experience starts from the first greeting. If the very first moment they interact with your brand and your product is a failure, they are not likely to buy. If you know what your customers’ ideal buying experience is, you can provide them with that and increase the possibility that they will buy your product.
What they think about you
It doesn’t matter if you are a newcomer or a reputable business, customers will have their opinions when they hear your name. It is important to find out how customers think about you. If there is any problem, you should resolve it as soon as possible.
What they think about your competitors
You for sure will have your research on your competitors. However, this can never be complete without your customer’s view on your rival. Knowing your opponent’s weaknesses is a chance to prove your product worth. Understanding their strengths gives an opportunity to surpass them.
How To Identify And Make Your Products Meet Target Customer’s Needs
Once you understand your target customers, it is time to find out what their needs are and how your product meets your target customers’ needs. There are various ways of identifying your customers’ needs. The next section of this articles will focus on three main types of need and suitable methods to find them out.
Hidden Needs – Observation Technique
There are needs that your customers may not realize. It could be a problem they face and deal with it in a complicated way without thinking of buying a product or service that help solve a headache. There are so many examples of such situation in life and work. That means there are multiple opportunities for businesses to make profits.
To identify those hidden needs, marketers and researchers need to observe the customers in their daily life and work keenly. Once you get the data you need, adjust your product and your advertising strategy to unveil the needs. Tell customers that they are in need of your product to solve their problem.
Direct Needs – Research Method
Direct needs are needs that the customers already know. They recognize the problem they have and now what kind of product can benefit them. They just need to look for the most suitable and beneficial deal. So, what you need to do is to gather information on their needs for product development and advertising campaign.
With direct needs, you can collect data by conducting market research. You can get information via opinion panels, polls, and questionnaires (online and offline), product test, or interview. The information you get from these methods then shows the trends and help decide what the next step is.
Assumed Needs – Feedback Method
Some businesses start a product or service simply because they think someone needs it. It is risky to assume what customers demand. Because if it is a false assumption, you may lose everything. So, it is necessary to test these assumptions before proceed.
The most suitable method to test is to gather feedback from customers on the business idea. Illustrate and describe it to customers and listen to their feedback. Once you get the feedback, you can move on with the development process. Businesses can gather feedback through interviews, surveys and contact forms.
Conclusion
Do you understand your customers? Do your product meets your target customers’ needs? These are two questions any business should ask themselves before launching any product. If you can find the answer to these two questions, you have 50% chance of success with your product. Remember this: it is important to give the right product to the right people at the right time. Do not lose your money by neglecting these very first steps!
Thank you for spending your golden time to read the article about how to identify and make your products meet target customer’s needs and hope that you can completely understand your customers to get your business more convenient.