It’s important to understand what your customer really wants and not what they say they want or even worse what you think they want.
Take books for example. I am a huge fan e-readers. For me, my Kindle is just about perfect. It’s small enough to carry anywhere with a complete library of books, any book I want I can get in minutes and find in seconds, it’s environmentally friendly as no trees are killed to print it, no ink requirements and no transport costs. When I first got it I believed I had seen the future and the future did not include paper. The problem is I didn’t understand why people buy books. I thought they bought them for the same reason I do – to read them. This you might think is a logical assumption but it arrogantly assumes that you can logically guess what the customer wants based on your own ideas, or indeed what they tell you.
Despite my almost evangelical attachment to my Kindle and all the advantages outlined above, years after the introduction of the efficient, environmentally friendly e-reader, paper book sales continue to outstrip digital downloads.
You see having a book to read is only one reason a customer buys a book. There are many other reasons they buy books and to satisfy those wants only paper will do. Here are some of the main reasons people buy books according to the Pew Research Centre:
To give as presents.
To share in book circles.
To create and thematise spaces in the home.
To be able to photograph covers etc and share on social media.
The lesson here is find out what your customer really wants and not what you assume they want or what they say they want. Don’t employ logic, the customer doesn’t. Know what your customer really wants and why they want it and you will have an effective marketing strategy. Don’t forget good old Henry Ford Effectiveness Is Not About Faster Horses
If you are looking after your customer properly then bear in mind that they don’t want efficiency or productiveness. They want something that satisfies their need.
I’m off to read my Kindle now.
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