Here are some basic facts about the buying public. Think about each one and make a note about your product or business and how you can leverage each of the ‘buying behavior’ facts in this list.

Think of this exercise as ‘satisfying your customer’s sweet tooth’. If you know a person loves chocolate, and your goal is to get them to eat your chocolate, how will you take advantage of their love of the cocoa bean to get their attention?

1. Look at the landscape of your marketplace, and think about the trends you see there.
a. How can you capitalize on those trends to get your customer’s attention and make them look away from your competitor’s products?
b. Are there innovations or new options you can add to products or services?
c. Are there new ‘keywords’ you can use to grab attention?
d. Are there new twists on existing products or new products or services you can add to get your customer’s attention?

2. Remember, your customers want instant gratification for the time and money they invest in your product. They don’t want to wait for results, rewards or benefits.
a. How can you capitalize on that customer characteristic, and give them what they want?
b. How can you make the most of the customer’s need for ‘instant happiness’?

3. Customers are more wary of products and services today. They know that some business people want to sell them cheap products or provide services that promise great things and deliver nothing! They are more educated than ever and they want more for their money.
a. How can you show them the benefit and dependability of your product or service and convince them they can trust you?
b. Can you tailor your product or service to suit their need?
c. Can you demonstrate that you understand them better than your competitor and show that you are sympathetic to their problems?

You may be interested to learn that more than 80% of business owners don’t know their customers well, nor do they understand their needs, what they want and exactly how they use the product or service.

If you don’t know what your customer needs or wants, you are not likely to get the customer, especially if your competitors are out there actively looking for feedback about customer requirements.

Answer the following questions to see how well you know your own customers and prospects. If you don’t know the answer to these questions, don’t be discouraged.

Create an evaluation or questionnaire you can give your customers to let them tell you what they value, and what is important.

Then use that information to build a profile of your average customer.

Rank your customer preferences and requirements from 1-10.

Customer Requirement                                                                  Number

Customer Requirement                                                              Number   

You are better served to look at the top 5 needs your customer has and satisfy those well, targeting those needs in your marketing and advertising so that your customer knows this is what you do.

If you try to do it all, you will muddle your image and your customer will not see your value or benefit to them, personally.

When we talk about advertising, we will discuss the ‘testing’ process, whereby you test market messages to see what works best.

If you aren’t sure what you need to say to get the target customer to understand that your product meets their requirements, you can test more than one message to see where you get the best response.

From then on:

1. Be sure all of your ads feature the specific advantages you know your customer wants and needs.

2. Educate and inform your field and store sales staff to point out these specific features and benefits

3. Send out letters and direct mail advertising to highlight these benefits

4. Call or email your customers to tell them that your product or service fills their need

And above all, be sure that if you have made a promise about a feature or benefit of your product or service, you are actually fulfilling that promise.

For example, if service is the critical factor in a car dealership, offer the best and fastest service, the most skilled service staff, loaner cars for your customers and reminder cards or phone calls for the next scheduled service visit.

If quality is paramount in a clothing store, don’t offer poorly manufactured products. Instead make sure you offer only the best when compared to your competition.

In other words, always think about what you know your customer wants and needs, not just what you may have to have to sell at the time.

Before we move on to talk about customer education, I’d like you to think seriously about the following questions, and answer them as best you can.

1. How can you be different from your competitors when it comes to serving your customer and giving them what they want?

2. How can you tailor your business to fit the demands of the market?

3. How can you show the customer that you are really interested in helping them.