Wouldn’t it be great if you could read your customers minds?
You’d be able to solve problems before they even knew they existed.
You’d gain insight into the marketplace that could propel your business into the stratosphere.
You’d uncover secrets, longings, and desires, and be able to please them all.
You’d build loyal Brand Ambassadors, true fans, and customers that would preach far and wide about how great you, and your business are.
But is this possible?
The Problem With Market Research
The biggest problem with market research (which includes surveys, focus groups, and even asking your customers directly) is that what your customers say is often very different from what they think and feel.
Also, buying market research reports or running a focus group is often prohibitively expensive for a small business owner or a startup entrepreneur.
So how can you gain insight into what your customers are really thinking?
A New Way Of Thinking
Have you ever heard anyone say “everything is fine” when you know pretty darn well that’s not the case?
To really uncover the things your customers aren’t telling you we need to look deeper, and dive into the realm of human psychology (don’t worry, this isn’t going to get too technical – I’m no psychologist after all)
Customer Service Foundational Principle: Customers are people.
The best way to uncover what your customers really want you to know is to first think of them as human beings, not customers.
Customers aren’t “statistics”, or “buyers”, or “personas”, or “avatars”, or “numbers” on a spreadsheet.
They’re people with real emotions, thoughts, and concerns. Fortunately, this makes identifying their thoughts, feelings, and needs a little easier to identify. After all, we have years and years of research outlining basic human needs and desires, as well as case studies, reports, and human behaviour experiments to draw from.
So in no particular order, here are 11 things your customers won’t tell you, but that you still really need to know.
1. Customers care more about service quality, than speed.
Yes, speed is important, but not at the expense of service. If the service is really good, customers tend to be willing to wait a little longer to ensure that everything goes right.
2. Customers want to feel important.
This is basic human psychology 101. Your customers want to feel important, as if they are your best, and maybe even your only customer. Get this one right, and you’ll experience more positive benefits than you could ever imagine.
3. Customers don’t really care about you.
This is a tough pill to swallow for a lot of business owners, but it’s the cold hard truth. Most customers simply don’t care about you. Rather, they care about the solution you’re able to provide, and how you’re able to help them. The minute your business becomes about you rather than the customer, is the minute you start fighting a losing battle.
4. Looks matter.
Whether we like it or not, the studies still show that we are judged by our appearance.This goes for both personal, and business appearance.Appearance matters when it comes to conveying the right image to your customers, so it makes sense to put a little extra time and money into this aspect of your marketing.
5. Customers buy emotionally, and defend logically.
This is something your customers definitely won’t be telling you anytime soon. But it’s a key fact in helping you design a perfect sales and marketing campaign. I’m sure you’ve heard “don’t sell the features, sell the benefits”. This is because it’s the benefits that stir up emotions. Emotions which can then be justified later thanks to all the features.
6. Personalization is appreciated.
This ties in with point #2 about customers wanting to be important. Think about your business and see if you can find a way to personalize a product or service. This is a great way to show your customers you’re thinking about them, and trying to find ways to meet their unique needs.
7. Customers like a good story.
Who doesn’t like a good story? Storytelling in your business has two key benefits. First, storytelling allows us to get our message across without being “salesy”. And second, it allows customers to enjoy the story and connect with you on a deeper level rather than simply a short and transactional relationship.
8. Customers appreciate the element of surprise.
A good surprise that is. The benefit of a good surprise is that it not only creates feelings of goodwill with your customers, it’s also highly “shareable” and stories of how you went “above and beyond” are a lot easier to spread easily across social networks then when you simply act like business as usual.
9. Most customers have short attention spans.
Much shorter than you think. Especially when it comes to promotional content, or anything that isn’t directly related to their needs at this exact moment. Let’s move on.
10. If a customer is happy, they won’t tell anyone. If they’re upset, they’ll tell everyone.
Good reviews can be a challenge to obtain, while bad reviews spread like wildfire. For this reason it’s important to make obtaining positive customer reviews a part your businesses marketing. This can be done through your website, encouraging them through social media, or interacting directly with a customer via email.
11. Customer buying experiences are based on feelings.
70% of a customers buying experience is based on how they feel they were treated. Perception matters. When you consider this it only makes sense to try to incorporate all of the previous points listed here in order to create an all around positive customer experience.
Asking your customers questions, running focus groups, or sending out surveys are a great way to gain insight into your customers thoughts, wants, and needs, but it does come with the risk of not always getting the whole truth.
In the end, if you build your business around the 11 unspoken customer wants above, you’ll be well on your way to creating a customer focused company, and happy customers are good for business.
