Knowledge is Power: Importance of understanding clients needs & wants.
Understanding clients needs and wants is vital to meet the expectations of any project. However, the challenge and the key factor to succeeding in your business no matter in what industry you are in is to identify and understand the difference between your customers needs and wants.
In order to be on the same page, I will start defining needs and wants — yes, definitions from the dictionary- so we understand the source. It might be silly for you because everyone knows what needs and wants are but trust me, there is more confusion than you might think, specially in business!
NEED
verb: need
· Require (something) because it is essential or very important rather than just desirable.
· Expressing necessity or obligation.
· Archaic be necessary.
WANT
verb: want
· Have a desire to possess or do (something); wish for.
By seeing these definitions, we can see that a need is something essential, basic, versus a want which is a desire. Ian Golding, from Customer Experience Consultancy, defines the difference in a very assertive way that I would like to share:
“What customers NEED, represents their BASIC requirements. Every customer journey will contain a significant number of touch points that represent the BASICS. These touch points are, as the definition of the word ‘need’ makes clear, essential for your organisation to get right.
What customers WANT, represents the touch points in the customer journey that are likely to ‘exceed expectation’ — the ‘sprinkling of fairy dust’, as I often call them. These touch points are equally as important. Your ability to give customers what they WANT will enable your organisation to DIFFERENTIATE itself”.
How many times has a customer requested to you that they want something, but does not really meet their needs? This is a very confusing situation because if the consultant, or supplier research is not well designed, it will be very difficult to get a satisfied customer. Reason why it is important to start from the beginning and understanding why they think they need that and the root cause of the symptom. However, It is a challenge to develop the skills of understanding the difference between a customer’s wants and needs, but at the end, it is a major key to succeeding in your business and it will be a big assets in your core competences.
With the competition increasing in the market, all businesses should be aware that when a possible client knocks your door, the team should concentrate in knowing the customer in detail including their interests, to build long-lasting relationships which will lead you to a loyal client.
If you look at this point from the big picture, I think this theory applies to all industries. However, if we focus on one specific, there might be a customization for each one. For example, in a digital technology company, understanding the client’s needs and business specifics is key as every single delivered system or service, either IT consulting, web ad app development, cloud migration, etc. it’s part of the company’s operations because enhances the processes, (which is the soul of the business) and on the go will drive innovation to begin with business transformations & eventually growth in the future. Therefore, technology solution companies should have deep knowledge of the industry, business and environment they are dealing with.
In this case, understanding the clients needs and wants will support your company to have great deliverable systems and customer satisfaction, which will establish strong partnerships that However, this will not only have a positive impact on your customers, it will stat building up an extensive network which will always lead to open new doors of opportunity.
I would also like to reinforce my thoughts with this super cool graphic video which will help us to understand deeply our customers needs.
Enjoy the video!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C-2v99paQM
Resources:
https://www.infoentrepreneurs.org/en/guides/know-your-customers--needs/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-understanding-customer-chaminda-samaranayake/