Meet Their Needs – The 5 critical needs of your customers

August 4, 2010 | Edited by Ken Beaulieu
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When it comes to growing your business, it’s important to think about your customers’ needs beyond selling them your product or service. How you sell to them is as important as what you sell to them. If you think of your customers’ basic needs, and use that knowledge when selling to them, you can make yourself invaluable to them a key to the customer relationship-building process. Here are five needs that all customers share:

1. To be heard and understood. This is just human nature. When customers, who are spending money on you, feel you no longer understand why they do business with you, they may start to look for a business that does. Understanding your customers’ emotional needs requires engagement on your part. Ask open-ended questions and maintain a full-fledged conversation, not just an initial sales pitch. Build a relationship, not just your database.
2. To belong and contribute. Socially, people want to live in groups. Work to create a brand that offers a community feel, like Coke as a cultural choice over Pepsi. This helps your customers feel that they belong to the tribe that is your business.
3. To feel stable and in control. Stability can be established through consistent service, or by allowing customers to have control over exactly how and when they receive your product. This means offering choices that are relevant to your customers’ needs. The security that arises from stability and control also builds longevity for your customer relationship.
4. To feel significant and special. You can meet this need by rewarding your most loyal customers. It’s important, too, to recognize the accomplishments of your employees. Take the time to treat people the way they’d like to be treated. It pays dividends to your business.
5. To be successful and reach one’s potential. As a business leader, consider it part of your responsibility to help customers and clients take advantage of opportunities and to try new things. Not only does this meet their needs and build loyalty, but that success is ultimately shared with you.