How To Find Out What Customers Want

It’s a good question, how to find what customers want.  In the mind of the business owner (that’s you), it’s obvious.  You know what you’re selling.  It makes perfect sense to you why the customer should buy your product or service.

But when we consider the mind of that customer, it is like an alien planetscape with weird things flying by overhead and uncertain footing.  Let me explain.

In order to help you understand better how to find what customers want, I’m going to help you get into their heads.

Your ideal customer isn’t thinking what you’re thinking.  They’re not even in the same ballpark.  Most businesses are not taking this into account and so fail to capture the attention of those who need their products and services.

You have the chance to stand out in your ideal customer’s mind by jumping in there and waving your flag.  But you can’t just barge in and yell, ‘buy my widget!’  You have to join the conversation they are already having.

To figure out how to find what customers want, you have to become the invisible friend they’re talking to inside their own minds.

Yikes, you’re probably thinking, that sounds tricky.  Not really, when you consider yourself as exhibit A.  During any normal day, you go about and think of things to eat, do, wear, say, and buy.  Consider how you made your last purchase.

The stream of consciousness probably went something like this:

“The neighbor’s dog got into my garden again.  Argg!  He refuses to fix the hole in his own fence.  Hmm, maybe I can put something there on my side to block it.  Now what do I have lying around I could use..nothing big enough; I need a….”

And that’s when he goes online or to the phone book or wherever and tries to find that thing that will do the job.

The way you show up when he searches is by finishing his sentence.  You want your widget marketing to say:

“…widget x repairs doggie damage to fences without insulting lazy neighbors!  All you do is…”

You get the idea.  By talking to your ideal customer in the language they are using to think about their problem, your marketing will be more likely to match the words they think of to search for a solution.

If you would like help targeting the right language, my keyword research service analyzes essential metrics to make sure you are not just shooting from the hip with guesswork.  Book a discovery call to learn more or sign up today.