Businesses that provide what is needed and wanted
Quick Answer: Knowing what customers want means asking them, not assuming. Giving people what you think they want is an art, and it forces you to convince and manipulate. Giving people what they say they need and want is the foundation of business: find the "water" in your industry and provide it at the right time, location and price.
Who Has What They Need and Want?
What would happen to your business if you knew exactly what your market needs and wants?
When you look around at the people in your life how many would you say have access to what they need and want at all times?
Think about it, and tell the truth.
What do you get?
None? Very few? Perhaps that one lucky individual you know. Or maybe you are that lucky person, in which case, good for you.
But, if you are up to being a leader, how can you ensure that others around you get what they say they need and want?
This is not an easy question, and I realise this is tough for most people.
We are not taught to discover, look for, or even notice what's needed and wanted. We are trained to give answers. In fact, asking questions, for many of us is a faux-pas.
I am sure you are wondering how this is relevant to business. I'll get to that in a moment but one of the things I want to bring to your attention is the following...
When I ask this question, most people respond with "No one in my life has what's needed and wanted at all times."
Isn't that shocking? Or at least surprising? After all, we live in one of the "most liveable" nations in the world.
Why It Matters to Business
But seriously, why is this relevant to business?
The answer is very simple. When business is designed and set up to provide what is wanted and needed it succeeds.
In fact, all successful businesses provide what is wanted and needed. In the business world this is called Research & Development.
Gucci Bags in the Desert
Imagine this scenario.
If you are selling Gucci bags and your marketplace is the desert, how well do you think you'll do? Conversely, take that same Gucci bag to Beverly Hills and what do you think will happen? Obviously, what is wanted and needed in the desert are not Gucci bags, yet, many "businesses" (which are actually an "art") insist on providing Gucci bags. In the desert, as far as I can tell, what is needed and wanted, is water. Now, if you want to condition a particular group of people and tell them that Gucci bags are a necessity in the desert you can do that, but the consequence of that is dealing with objections. You have to figure out how to coerce, manipulate, convince, cajole and use many other techniques to make the person think that what you are providing is required. Business becomes hard.
Now, imagine, for just a minute, if you asked the person in the desert what they really needed and wanted.
I will assume they need water. (After all, even I don't know what's needed and wanted until I ask the person in the desert.)
So, I give them water. What happens to my business? How easy is it for me to provide value? It's almost too easy.
What Customers Want Versus What You Think They Want
So how come people don't do it?
We are not trained to find out what is needed and wanted!
But what if you were trained? What if you gave people what they need and want? Not what you think they need and want: notice the distinction here. It is critical to this conversation.
Giving people what you think or assume they want is an Art. Giving people what they say they need and want is the foundation for Business.
So what would happen to your business if you followed this principle? If you surveyed the marketplace and discovered what exactly is needed and wanted and provided that, at the right time, location and price.
Imagine what would happen if you knew what the "water" is in your industry.
- Most people are trained to give answers, not to discover what is needed and wanted.
- Businesses designed to provide what is wanted and needed succeed; that is Research & Development.
- Selling Gucci bags in the desert means fighting objections; selling water is almost too easy.
- Giving people what you assume they want is an art; giving them what they say they want is business.
- Survey your market and provide its "water" at the right time, location and price.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out what my customers want?
Ask them. Survey the marketplace and discover exactly what is needed and wanted, instead of assuming. Even Robert says he doesn't know what the person in the desert needs until he asks.
What is the difference between art and business here?
Giving people what you think or assume they want is an art. Giving people what they say they need and want is the foundation of business.
Why does business feel so hard sometimes?
If you sell something the market doesn't need, you have to coerce, convince and cajole people past their objections. Providing what they actually need and want makes providing value easy.
What is the "water" in an industry?
It is the thing your market genuinely needs and wants, the way people in the desert need water rather than Gucci bags.