Maybe you started your business because you had a great idea. Maybe you wanted to share your gifts with others. Regardless of why you started your business, you should be thinking about what your customers and potential customers want.

If you haven’t thought about it before, you might take a moment to think about it now. Knowing what your customers want is critical to your success because if you don’t provide what they want you’re going to be out of business sooner or later.

Notice in the last section I said “what your customers want,” not what they need. What your customers want is more likely to pull people to your business. Here’s why – wants are stronger than needs.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

“Want” = “to wish or demand the presence of.” Other words for “wants” are “ache,” “crave” and “hunger.”

“Need” = “a lack of something desirable or useful.” Alternate words for “need” are “absence” and “lack.”

More emotion is connected to the word “want” than to the word “need.” That makes wants more powerful motivators than needs.

Consider this, things like food and clothing are important. They are needed. Your customers will pay for what they need.

Wants on the other hand — a whiter smile, for example, are things that increase a person’s quality of life. They are aspirational, appealing, desirable. Your customers will pay more for something they want than something they need.

Finding out what your customers want, is incredibly valuable. Knowing what your customers want can make marketing your business – that is attracting customers and bringing in more sales – a whole lot easier.

So how do you know what your customers want? Ask them. Ask them what they want to achieve. Find out what they desire. Go to current or past customers and ask they what they got from working with you or buying your products. Ask them what working with you or what your product did for them. Ask how it made them feel.

If you don’t have customers yet, talk to people who are similar to the people you want to sell to. Tell them about your company. Ask them what their biggest challenges, problems, wants and desires are in relation to what your business offers. Use what you learn to develop or refine what you say to people about your company.

Tags: attracting customers, easier marketing, small business marketing, small business marketing research