Customers don’t buy products, situations and needs do
How we frame our perspective shapes which questions we ask and what we learn.
Suggesting that customers buy products (which to some extent is true) doesn’t introduce any new or interesting questions. In fact the term ‘customer’ indicates that the most valuable information we can learn is about the buying process, which can be practically important, but seldom the reason for the buying itself.
E.g. when purchasing a mattress few reflect on the importance of the process of buying the mattress compared to the years of using it.
Suggesting on the other hand that situations and needs buy products opens up to questions which might bring new perspectives and insights to the decision making teams.
How so?
Situations:
The situations people show up in are more influential to their preference and decision making than e.g. their demographics. The same person can show up in the same place even engaging with the same brand, but still given the situation they are in need and value very different things.
How can you best know and serve people when they engage with you? Demographics are too general, while a situation is more specific.
A situation contains unique rituals, technologies, needs and measures of value that have an impactful influence on people.
e.g. when I wake up every morning I brew myself a cup of coffee and sit down to read a book. This is a unique situation with specific rituals, technologies, needs and value. An hour later I wake my kids up and get them ready for school. It’s the same ‘me’, but the situation is entirely different with other rituals, technologies, needs and measures of value.
e.g. when travelling for business Anna demands something else from her hotel rooms than when she is travelling for pleasure and experience.
e.g. when buying milkshakes at McDonalds in the morning Joe is looking for something else than when he is buying Happy Meals in the evening
e.g. a physician wanting to validate a decision is looking for something else than 30 minutes later when she is trying to learn something new and keep up with new developments in her field of expertise.
Needs:
People don’t buy products, but have needs they are trying to achieve.
Needs are bigger than products. Needs can be resolved by many different types of products and also many different means. Including products, services, tools, information, promotional marketing etc.
E.g. nobody needs to buy an airline ticket. They are in need to travel. And they can choose a plane, train, car, bike, boat etc. In addition the travel experience might have started with the product (plane) back in the days, but quickly grew to include the service onboard, the service on the ground, the magazines and dreams served through content when you travel, the marketing and eventually the apps.
Suggesting that customers buy products is probably pretty correct. But it’s more important to be curious than confident.
And asking what situations and needs buy products instead of which wallets, might offer a better setup for learning more things and maybe even something new?
