Understanding What Your Customer Wants

Effective communication and solution development requires a clear understanding of your customers’ visions, needs, wants, and desires. How many times have we experienced that situation where someone shares with us a brief vision of something they like?  It could be their favorite food is pizza, they love a fast car, their favorite color is blue, or they love to vacation on the beach.  In business it could be, I need more productivity out of my team, having more customers would really turn things around, or profits need to improve soon.

Tasty NYC pizza

Each of these examples features a broad description of something of interest or value.  And often we accept these at their value for what was heard, not understood.  For example, your customer was thinking about his favorite deep dish pizza, while you were envisioning your neighborhood New York Style pizza.  Imagine your embarrassment when you show up to surprise his team for lunch with your favorite thin crust pizza.

“What does that mean?” No, that is not the question I would encourage you ask; however, I would encourage you to think that as your customer is talking in broad strokes about what they want, need, or desire.  Stay with the pizza example.  Your response to “I just love a good pizza” needs to be “Me too.  Tell me what is your idea of a great pizza?”

Or, “my team is having productivity issues” is followed up with “what types of productivity issues?” and “what are some of the actions you have taken to deal with this so far?”  Always, take the time to learn “what does that mean?” 

Your understanding, in their context of thought, what they are talking about will help you better understand what they meant when they said what they did.  It helps you with your relationship, your ability to connect, and with your solution development.

Photo credit: cheezemaster

Dave Cooke is CEO of Strategic Resource Group, llc an organization specializing in helping businesses increase their revenues through effective growth initiatives and employee development programs. His contributions and insights can be found on his blog posts, SalesCooke and Sustainable Revenues.  He has also developed a new program for sustainable revenues in a down economy, known as SuRF.  To download this case study go to: SurfWhitePaper.com.