MARKETING STRATEGIES: The customer defines their needs

You need to put yourself into the customer’s shoes. First let us assume the customer knows what problem they have and they are looking for a solution.

If they have solved the problem in the past with a satisfactory result, the chances are that they will buy the same product or service again. Their decision will most likely be determined by switching cost.

If they are interested in trying something new or are unfamiliar with the range of possible products and/or services which could satisfy their need, they will start a search for information.

Customers have a range of information searching strategies open to them. They can seek out a person or firm they know who has already solved the problem and ask their advice and get an opinion as to the success of their purchase. Depending on the trust they place in their opinion, this may be sufficient to make a decision.

They can search for others who have solved the problem. With the availability of the internet it is not difficult to find stories in blogs, chatrooms, articles, videos and social network sites about individuals and firms who have experienced the same problems and have experiences with different products or services. Their experiences are likely to be varied but through this process the customer becomes better informed about key issues of product functionality or service delivery which they need to take into account. At some point in the search for information, the customer will come across names of products or vendors which might be able to satisfy their requirement.

Some vendors may have information on their websites or social media sites which provide meaningful information to the customer. However, often vendors talk in terms of products and features and not solutions so the customer has to first identify from some other source that the product or service is appropriate for their needs.

Even where a specific vendor has been identified, the customer may wish to confirm that the vendor’s products or services can satisfy the requirement. Before actually connecting with the vendor or seeing the actual product, they might search for information on the vendor. If they are then confused, irritated, or exhausted in trying to work out whether that vendor can satisfy their requirements, they may well abandon the search for information on that vendor and try another. Remember that customers often have a low tolerance level for search time if they are not getting some positive reinforcement for their effort.

This leads us back to the fundamental requirement of clearly specifying what problem you solve. It clarifies what you do and don’t do. It allows your current customers to more clearly explain what solution you have provided to them. It allows the customer to find you more quickly in a search and it more easily confirms that you can satisfy their requirement.

What you are doing is reducing the time from need recognition to identifying a solution. This is a critical factor in reducing the overall sales cycle time and improving your lead qualification levels. It also ensures that more customers who have a need you can satisfy can find you.

You need to confirm that you have the message right.

• What problem does your customer have?
• What need are they addressing?
• What would happen if they did not solve the problem?
• What are the benefits to the customer of finding the right solution?
• What is creating the problem for the customer?
• What would take the source of the problem away? (functions, features, activities – not products).

Confirm your understanding of the problem or need by revisiting the purchase decisions made by your existing customers. Ask them these questions. What level of understanding did you have of their problems or needs when you made the original sale?

Review the various sources of information which your customer might access to see what messages they are receiving. Is the information accurate about what you do and what problem you solve?

Review the social network sites to see what is being said about your products and services? Is what is being said about you a reasonable reflection of what you think you are doing?

Have a look at your own marketing material and website content. Would the customer recognize from quickly looking at your material that you might be able to solve their problem?

We have two scenarios to deal with. The customer seeking a solution and the vendor looking for customers. When the customer is looking for a solution, they will only find the vendor easily if the vendor is able to communicate to the customer in a manner that demonstrates to the customer that the vendor has a solution to their problem. This means we have to know how customers express their need and search for solutions. We then have to ensure we can be readily found using that methodology. If we are using different words, descriptors, phrases and attributes to describe what we do, we simply won’t ever get on the radar of the customer.

If we now look at this from the vendor perspective, how do they seek out customers? Vendors are using many forms of marketing communications to state what they do, and often what they don’t do. The advertisements, brochures, newsletters, forums, websites and social networking content will contain descriptors, attributes and characteristics of the products and services sold, but if these are not stated in terms of the solution characteristics used by the customers, they will be ineffective. In effect, we have ships passing in the night.

Unfortunately, many vendors speak a different language to the customer and a match does not easily occur.

Example: Ceramic Tile Cleaner

We have several rooms with high gloss ceramic white tiles. When the humidity is high, we can see shoe prints and bare foot prints. We tried rubbing them off, using a steam cleaner and various polishing solutions. Nothing we tried really worked. We searched through the internet sites and blogs looking for a solution but the search only returned solutions for tile and grout cleaners.

I did find one site which had answers to the question of ‘bare foot prints’ but the answers looked like guess work rather than tried solutions. We had also tried all the suggested solutions but these were not practical on such a large scale.

We decided to visit a local retailer which specialised in floor cleaning equipment. We expressed an interest in buying a steam cleaner which we thought was a reasonable solution but by no means prefect. Rather than process the sale, the salesperson asked us to describe our problem. He immediately stated that only one product was designed to solve the problem – the ‘ Hoover floor2floor’ cleaner. He offered a demonstration which he did on a hard vinyl floor. It looked OK but we said we had glossy tiles rather than vinyl.

He offered to lend us a demonstration machine to try on our own floors. We took up the offer and used it the same day with excellent results – a clear glossy surface with no imprints on it. Next day, we purchased a new machine and have been very satisfied with the result.

However, in searching for a solution, I was not able to find a creditable source of information using a variety of descriptions of the problem. Since buying the floor2floor equipment, I have searched for product information on that specific machine to see if I missed anything in my earlier search but still could not find anything associated with that equipment to link my problem to the Hoover floor2floor cleaner.

This example demonstrates the importance of providing information in the language of the customer. Specifications, technical features, user manuals and so on which fail to identify the problems being experienced are unlikely to provide the information needed by the customer to find the right solution or the right vendor.

Basically, you often have a situation where there are clearly defined needs in the community and you, the vendor, have a good solution but you miss each other for a variety of reasons. Most vendors suffer from this problem. While it is hard to find and interview the customer who failed to find you, you can start your investigation with those who did.

• What words do they use to express their problem?
• Where did they search and what were they looking for in that search?
• What did they find and how did they evaluate the information?
• When they asked others for a solution, how did they express the problem and what information were they given?
• How did they find you?
• When they described what they wanted, what words, phases, descriptions did they use?
• How well does your marketing content match with the problem descriptions used by your customers?
• If you conduct an internet search using the problem descriptions used by the customer, do you appear as a solution provider?

Tom McKaskill is a successful global serial entrepreneur, educator and author who is a world acknowledged authority on exit strategies and the former Richard Pratt Professor of Entrepreneurship, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. A series of free eBooks for entrepreneurs and angel and VC investors can be found at his site here.