Customer Needs
Customer needs refer to the specific requirements and desires of consumers that drive their purchasing decisions. These needs can encompass functional, emotional, and social aspects, and are essential for businesses to understand in order to develop products and services that effectively meet customer demands. Identifying and addressing customer needs is a fundamental aspect of successful marketing strategies.
8 Key excerpts on "Customer Needs"
- Su Mi Dahlgaard-Park(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...Consumer Needs Consumer Needs 76 77 Consumer Needs Consumer needs are the basis for customer orientation, which is often one ofthe main aims of a company, whether the company provides products orservices. Consumer needs can be defined as a consumer’s desire for aspecific benefit with regard to a product category, which can be achievedfor a specific situation or time on a functional or emotional level. Thisentry focuses on the relation of consumer needs to market success andidentifies various models for classifying consumer needs. Consumer Needs and Market Success Identifying, correctly interpreting, and fulfilling consumer needs areessential for companies to be competitive. Due to saturated markets andan increasing individualization of consumer needs (i.e., a particularcustomer’s need and/or wish), to ensure market success, companies mustcustomize their products and services according to the particularCustomer Needs. Consumers’ buying decisions are based on theirindividual needs, requirements, and wishes and also on interpersonalfactors. Determining factors for buying decisions include emotions,social aspects, and consumer aims and values. Thus, consumer needs arebased not just on rational needs; rather, they are more complex.Therefore, it is necessary for companies to understand consumer needs todevelop, offer, and advertise products or services that meet theseneeds, as this is essential for market success. Nevertheless, it can be difficult for consumers or stakeholders ingeneral to mention all of their requirements when making buyingdecisions or to be precise when articulating them. This may resultbecause consumers may initially not know what they really want,especially when buying complex or individually customized products.Moreover, consumers have latent requirements, which they do notarticulate because they are not self-evident to them. Furthermore, aconsumer’s needs are often of varying importance to the consumer...
eBook - ePub- Simon Middleton(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Capstone(Publisher)
...CHAPTER 1 THE CUSTOMERS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT The difference between needs, wants and demands Value propositions and marketing offers Giving customers sufficient value to make them ‘satisfied’ Building customer relationships Arguably the most important fundamental concepts in marketing are those of needs and wants : the prime motivators for the human behaviour which turns us into ‘customers’. Without needs and wants there would be no motivation for us to buy. The marketer’s first task therefore is to consider what it is that people actually need and want, even if those people don’t yet know the answer themselves. NEEDS, WANTS AND DEMANDS A self-assured female character in a well-known Bob Dylan song points out to her hesitant lover that whilst his debutante girlfriend might well know what he ‘needs’, it is she that knows what he actually ‘wants’. We know exactly what is being implied here and it points up an important concept in marketing: the difference between needs, wants and demands. Our needs can be described as things that are fundamental to us as humans. Fundamental, but not necessarily physical. We need air, water, food. We need to be out of the cold, and out of the scorching sun. We need protection from danger. But we need more than those physical and environmental basics. We need to be part of social groups. We need a sense of ‘security’ which goes beyond immediate safety. And we seem, as humans, to have a need to understand what is going on in our world. From primitive reassurance that the sun will rise tomorrow, through to more sophisticated understanding about ‘why’ (embracing science, religion, philosophy). The famous hierarchy of needs described by Abraham Maslow is still hard to beat as a summary of our multi-layered human needs. Maslow’s model is useful and descriptive, but some contemporary thinkers point out that it is also limited in outlook, in that it is hierarchical...
eBook - ePubRaising a Business
A Woman's No-nonsense Guide to Successfully Growing a Small Business
- Sonia Williams(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
...Each possibility will satisfy their needs to varying degrees. So in order to grow your business, you must ensure your product or service, rather than that of your competitors, satisfies the needs of its target market the most effectively. Just to inspire positive word-of-mouth promotion, a necessity for growing businesses, your product or service must be consumers’ first and only choice. You must ensure your product or service... satisfies the needs of its target market the most effectively To achieve this you must truly appreciate and understand the needs of your target market, as mentioned earlier. What need does your product or service truly address? Reflect on the consumer intelligence you gained from segmenting your target market and profiling your target customer. Satisfying the needs of your customers before your competitors do will create loyal customers who will recommend your product or service to others. Understanding the needs of your target market will also help you identify other areas where you could better satisfy your customers’ needs. For example, Janel Horton of Gourmet Dinner Service believes understanding the needs of her market led to her successfully introducing her baby and toddler range of prepared meals. In order to grow your business, the following attributes must be considered when you are designing your product or service: Functionality. This gives an indication of how well your product or service addresses the purpose it was designed for. Availability. This is about how readily available your product or service is to your target market. Cost versus value. This shows how the price of your product or service compares with its quality and value. Identifying a gap in the marketplace All business owners profiled in this book know the consumers who represent their target market and understand their unsatisfied needs...
eBook - ePubErgodesign Methodology for Product Design
A Human-Centered Approach
- Marcelo M. Soares(Author)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
...(2005), and Mowen and Minor (1997). 4.2.1 General Considerations about User Needs All user needs have to be met, and the product features should be responsive to those needs (De Feo, 2017). Observing user needs is today a powerful tool for the design of competitive products. User needs are requisites, desirable, or intrinsic, to be fulfilled by the product or service. Some have a higher priority for consumers than others. It is essential to identify consumer needs and establish priorities so that they can be useful to the engineering team during product development. Pugh (1991) says that any mismatches that arise between company products and the real needs of the consumer seem only be solved after the product is available on the market and after a long time of use. Tip A guide to identifying users’ needs is found in the manual presented by Jan Dittrich. A beginner’s guide to finding user needs, Jan Dittrich, 2020 https://jdittrich.github.io/userNeedResearchBook/ Harris (1990) states that if, on the one hand, several companies are spending more money on trying to sell mediocre products, the successful companies are investing heavily in ergonomics and design and producing products that are more desirable to own. Examples of the latter approach can be seen in some smartphones currently on the market that excel in beauty and usability. In this way, the importance of identifying a consumer need or wish to purchase a product and using market pull to sell the product should be considered. A long-term approval and acceptance of a product lie with users developing an affinity for the product and a belief that it meets their needs. A necessary condition for product success is that a product offers perceived benefit to the user, and it will do just that when it satisfies their needs (Ulrich and Eppinger, 2019). According to Holt (1989), many designers concentrate their attention on technology and neglect the user’s problems and needs...
eBook - ePub- Geoffrey Lancaster, Lester Massingham(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...The marketer must also keep track of competitor levels of customer care and any trends in these levels. Identifying Customer Needs and perceptions As with all marketing programmes, the start point of effective customer care is the identification of Customer Needs. Customer care is about ensuring these needs are met and in particular that customer expectations are fulfilled or exceeded. Many companies still do not appreciate what their customers’ needs and expectations are with regard to various facets of the transaction process. For example, most new car customers want a full tank of fuel when they collect their new cars. In spite of this, even some of the most expensive new cars have only enough fuel in them to reach the first filling station. As mentioned already, customers are often reluctant to complain, and in any event if the customer does complain it is already too late. The marketer must therefore research Customer Needs to establish precisely what constitutes customer satisfaction and expectations with regard to the various facets of the transaction process. The marketer must also at this stage consider customers’ perceptions of the company and its standards of customer care. Focus group interviews with both potential and existing customers can be useful. Customers are often more willing to reveal their true needs or, in the case of existing customers, feelings of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in a group setting. Many companies use follow-up phone calls or mailed questionnaires to check on customer satisfaction. For example, the providers of ‘Home Care’, an insurance product for householders covering plumbing repairs, kitchen appliance breakdowns, and so on, regularly contact a sample of customers who have had a call-out to check levels of service and customer satisfaction...
eBook - ePub- David Campbell(Author)
- 2003(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...A cinema chain, for example, might define itself as being in the ‘leisure’ market, but it is probably wise for cinema companies also to consider threats and opportunities that might arise from television, bars, computer games, holidays, etc. Opportunities only arise from leisure activities that the company's competences would allow it to enter (see Chapter 2), and threats would come from activities that would be likely to substitute customers’ business. Key concept Needs and wants Whenever a customer makes a purchase decision, he or she expects to gain a benefit from the product purchased. This benefit satisfaction is usually expressed as a need or a want. The difference between the two is in the perception of the consumer – one customer's want is another's need. The practical use of the distinction is in the price responsiveness of the product. Generally speaking, customers who need – or who believe they need – a product will be less price sensitive than those who merely want it. Hence, the greater the felt need, the more price inelastic the demand. Definition based on customer identity Groups of customers have requirements in common, and differ from other groups of customers. In this way, the identity of customers can be used to define markets. We could, for example, consider the ‘office consumables market’ a quite distinct market. The market might be for products as diverse as pencils, pens, envelopes, computer disks, etc., but the market could clearly be seen as being for things that offices in organizations need to buy on a regular basis. In terms of strategy formulation, the advantage of this approach is that it allows accurate targeting of the customer, so that efficient use can be made of advertising, mail shots, personal selling, etc...
eBook - ePubTraining for Project Management
Volume 3: Innovation, Value and Performance
- Ian Stokes(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...(Asking ‘what’ questions can reveal the users’ needs. Asking ‘how’ questions can lead you into the error of attempting to design the product prematurely.) Be specific and use positive phrasing. (Negatives and double negatives are more difficult to understand.) Verify the conditions for satisfaction. Avoid ‘must’ and ‘should’ for the moment. (That only comes in later.) Customer Needs Identification Brainstorming chases out between about a third and a half of the potential requirements. As soon as the ideas cease to flow, it is time to shift into another gear and use another tool. The product life cycle takes the product through from conception to exploitation and recycling via design, development, manufacturing, logistics, marketing, sales, after-sales and maintenance. The needs of each step need to be analyzed and taken into account. The decision-making unit includes buyers as well as users, but also operators and secondary decision-makers. Customers can use a product in different situations and for different purposes. Thinking through these use cases and the limits of each situation reveals more possible needs, as well as potential market segments. Early adopters with their need to experiment and to stay ahead of the crowd are very different from the late adopters and their desire to conform and to be reassured. Blatant needs are those that are most obvious, whereas latent needs may only become available to a user under certain circumstances. Direct needs are based on the product itself, whereas derived needs depend on other products with which the product must interact. An objective need is one that is easily measurable and applicable, whereas a subjective need is more emotional, obscure and harder to measure...
eBook - ePubProject Scheduling and Cost Control
Planning, Monitoring and Controlling the Baseline
- James Taylor(Author)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- J. Ross Publishing(Publisher)
...In fact, many projects, particularly those involving new or cutting-edge technology, may start with only general ideas about the purpose of the end product. In these instances, it is appropriate to develop the system requirements as the project progresses. However, even under these circumstances, and perhaps even more so, the requirements definition process has to be disciplined, documented, and scrupulously followed. The customer defines requirements. That is, the customer, whether internal to an organization or external, desires a product or a service to meet some need and then communicates this need to the provider. The problem is that the customer often cannot describe precisely what is being requested. Sometimes the product may be too cutting edge to even understand fully its functional capabilities, or the customer may know exactly what is needed but may not be able to communicate the requirements clearly. To make matters worse, the producing organization may not have a process for identifying and analyzing requirements—and thus may be incapable of correctly interpreting them even when they are clearly communicated. In addition, the producing organization may not have a sophisticated enough process to accurately relate customer requirements to organizational strategic and business needs. WHAT ARE REQUIREMENTS AND WHY DO WE NEED THEM? At the most basic level in project management, it should be understood that the customer or buyer establishes requirements usually as a result of some operational need. Equally important, however, is that the provider organization also has a need to improve its capability, competitiveness, or dominance in a particular area. Hence, some requirements are the result of the provider organization’s strategic objectives and may be driven by a company’s need to improve or change its core business. A specific requirement is something a product (or service) must do or a quality a product must have...
