When you work in product development, you often talk about satisfying the customer's needs and wants. While that sounds great on paper, determining what your customers really want from your product is a lot easier said than done. Your customers aren't always sure what they want, making it your product team's responsibility to recognize those objectives for them. If successful, your new product or feature will have a much better chance of flying off the shelves when it's released.
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If you're having trouble discovering what customers desire from your company, this post will cover the different ways that you can determine customer wants and needs before and during product development.
Before we get into product development specifically, let's talk about wants and needs on a more general level.
What do people need?
In theory, if you can build a product that enough people need and cannot satisfy, you won't have a demand problem. But what exactly constitutes aneed?
Fundamentally, a need is something that would solve a deficiency in a person's life, one that would have an adverse outcome if it wasn't addressed. With that in mind, a need is likely to spur a person to action — in other words, provide motivating behavior.
If the above sounds really broad to you, you're not alone. In order to fully understand the concept, psychologistAbraham Maslowset out to more concretely classify the most common human needs. His model, known as Maslow'sHierarchy of Needs, was proposed in 1943 and remains relevant to this day.
The idea behind the model is that people have basic needs that must be prioritized first (hence the hierarchy) before they seek out to satisfy their other needs. For example, one is more inclined to ensure that they have basic physiological needs (such as food or shelter) met before feeling the need to improve their status in the community by buying an expensive house or car to keep up with the Joneses.
从理论上讲，一旦某人达到第一级，他们便进入了一个新的层面（依此类推）。尽管现实可能比这更复杂，但该框架是了解人类需求和动力的有用工具。
Here is a basic rundown of the types of needs in Maslow's Hierarchy model:
Physiological Needs
The needs that a human being's body requires to function (e.g. food, water, air).
安全Needs
The needs that a human being requires to feel safe (e.g. shelter, employment, nutrition).
Love and Belonging
The needs that a human being requires to feel loved (e.g. family, friendship).
Esteem
The needs that a human being requires to feel accomplished (e.g. respect, confidence, status).
Self-Actualization
The needs that a human being requires to feel their full potential, being the best they can be.
What do people want?
Wanting is a little different. Unlike a need, a want is not as likely to cause an adverse outcome, instead being simply a desire or aspiration.
Wants might include:
Ease of Use
无论您是否创建SaaSproduct or a physical one, customers love when they can easily learn how to use it. This is particularly important for products that are new to their industry as these companies may need to educate consumers as to why they're superior in their marketplace. If customers find your product too confusing or too hard to use, they'll likely lose interest and seek a simpler alternative.
Convenience
Making a product too difficult to buy, continue buying, or continue using goes against people's need for convenience. As a result, too many objections, friction, or blockers can turn someone away, even if they needed and liked your product.
Cost-Efficiency
Everybody likes more bang for their buck. So, if you can sell a product at a competitive price without sacrificing its quality, you'll have an offer that'll be tough to refuse.
With this mind, it's important to remember your target audience. In some cases, your customers may be put off by a low price tag. For example, if your customers are looking to buy a high-quality car, they'll probably pass on the used model that's discounted. That's because they have different motivators and may rightfully have concerns as to why this one car is marked lower than the others.
Knowing your target audience can help you avoid this friction and find the right price point that fits yourcustomer base。
Value or Flexibility
In the 1920s,George Washington Carverdiscovered over 300 unique uses for peanuts. It's hard to imagine that a little nut could produce so many beneficial products for its users, but that's exactly the type of flexibility that can make your product great.
Customers love when they purchase a product and find out that they can use it to solve more than one problem. And, it's even better when they find new uses for your product as they continue to travel through thecustomer's journey。This outsized value makes customers feel like they got a great deal by engaging with your business.
Style
当涉及到客户想要的产品时，最常见的答案之一就是样式。人们想购买一种很酷且有趣的产品。这给客户提供了信心，因为他们知道其他客户想复制自己的风格。虽然您的产品工作更重要，但使其时尚是使其在市场上脱颖而出的好方法。
在调查客户对业务的期望之前，重要的是要区分customer needsand wants. Understanding the difference can help you create better products, features, and messaging or positioning. Below, we'll talk about the distinction of wants vs. needs in business and then how to apply the theoretical concepts above to product development.
客户想要vs. Customer Needs
Customer needs are the features and characteristics that are required for a customer to meet their goals. Needs are non-negotiable, and if they're not fulfilled, they often result in unsatisfied or angry customers. Wants, on the other hand, are the features on top of the product's core functionality that could help a customer make a decision.
Customer Needs
Needs are going to be your reason for creating a product. You're attempting to address a pain or problem that consumers are motivated to solve.
The good news is since they're imperative tocustomer success, needs tend to be easier to identify than wants. Frustrated customers will make it clear that their needs weren't met by either leaving a bad review or asking for a refund.
客户想要
客户想要像樱桃(或热软糖for some) on top of a sundae. These are things that customers desire from your product but aren't necessarily deal-breakers. They may be features or key differentiators that distinguish you from the competition and help win over those customers who are on the fence.
因为他们不是关键客户的目标,customer wants are typically harder to recognize. However, if properly identified, fulfilling these expectations can be a great way to delight your customers and disrupt your competition.
The ideal product should provide a balance that fulfills bothcustomer needsand customer wants. Prioritize needs at the forefront of your decision-making because they're vital to achievingcustomer success。Then goabove and beyondfor your customers by also providing the elements that they want to see in your product.
If you're still stuck differentiating between needs and wants, these next sections will list out some examples of how needs and wants might manifest in product development.
What Are Examples of Wants and Needs?
需求的例子
如果你还没有决定什么样的产品create, you might start with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. These are broad motivations that might help you unearth a key pain or problem to solve for your target customers.
Product development will rarely address physiological needs, though, so we'll start a little higher up on the hierarchy:
| Needs | Examples |
|---|---|
安全 |
Consumers are often concerned with safety, whether that's safety for their person, security in their homes and jobs, or financial in their present or future. If your customers have safety as a motivator, your goal might be to create a product that protects them. Then, you'll want to create messaging that gives them reassurance that they'll be taken care of. For example, let's say you're selling a home alarm system. It might be tempting to discuss all the bells and whistles of the product as if it were the neatest piece of tech on the market. However, a better approach would be connecting those features to the prospective customer's safety needs, explaining how each one provides another level of safety for their home, their valuables, and most importantly their loved ones. |
Love and Belonging |
Speaking of loved ones, as humans, we're inclined to do all that we can for ours. And we're also inclined to seek connection. For this reason, our social needs can be powerful motivators. Just think about how De Beers, the diamond retail company,changed how we look at engagement ringswith their ads in 1947. In a time where a diamond ring might be seen as a frivolous expense, they were able to create the illusion that diamonds are rare and sought-after as well as create a sentimental attachment to them with their popular slogan, "A diamond is forever." This really positioned diamond jewelry as a token of love and affection. As a result, the diamond industry was never the same. |
Esteem |
Some products represent who customers are as people and act as a symbol that represents their social status or personal identity. For example, BMW deems itself, "The Ultimate Driving Machine." This means that people who purchase its products care deeply about cars and how they perform. They want their peers to think that they're driving the best car available. Therefore, BMW creates and markets high-performance vehicles that are intended for luxury buyers. The motivation for buying a BMW is much different than buying a Ford or Chevy. If BMW were to come out with a cost-effective, economic vehicle, it wouldn't be as successful as its current products. BMW's existing customers would have no interest in this type of car because it doesn't reflect who they are as people. When developing the next product for your business, be sure that it aligns with the social status or identity that your customers desire. |
Self-Actualization |
自我实现是很难定义自电动车eryone is different, but it ultimately comes down to the need to better oneself (and simply for the sake of it, not for another motivation such as career/finances). The need for self-actualization is difficult to target since it looks different for everyone and because your product will not be enough to achieve it for your customers. However, self-actualization is still a powerful motivator, which means that, done right, messaging that appeals to this need can be persuasive. Consider language-learning app Duolingo's message to "make every day count" by dedicating a sliver of it to learning a language. |
Additional Needs That Product Teams Should Consider
While your product or positioning will be so much stronger when you target one of the above needs from Maslow's Hierarchy, there are a few additional things you should keep in mind as you develop and market your products.
| Additional Needs | Examples |
|---|---|
Problem-Solving |
At the end of the day, your product has to solve the problem that you advertise. That's why customers bought it in the first place, and you can't fault them for being upset or turning to your competitors if you don't solve the problem that they're having. This is easily the most important function that your product should perform. |
产品质量 |
Once you know that your product will solve your customers' problems, that's great! Now, you need to make sure it can continue to solve their problems moving forward. If it breaks easily, customers will be frustrated with having to return products or constantly working with your customer service team. For this reason, it's important to invest in your product's quality so that you can ensure long-term customer satisfaction. |
Personal Comfort |
无论您是出售鞋子还是订阅杂志，您的产品都应该使客户感到舒适。与之合作的工作不应该疲惫或压力，但是，每当他们继续与您的产品或服务互动时，客户都应该感到放松和回报。这将使他们对您的业务感兴趣，并且更有可能返回额外购买。 |
放心 |
Have you ever purchased a product only to feel regret once you took it out of the packaging? This is calledbuyer's remorse当我们刚刚购买的产品无法满足我们的期望时，就会发生这种情况。 To prevent your customers from experiencing this phenomenon, it's important to reassure them with a strong customer service offer. Having a dedicated support team ready to solve issues is key to making customers feel confident in the purchase they just made. And, that confidence can be the deciding factor between staying with your business and switching to a competitor. |
Entertainment or Stimulation |
除非客户购买您的产品，否则大多数人不会觉得很有趣，他们就不会抓住机会购买它。最好的产品很有趣，可以在整个用户体验中刺激客户。 Think about mobile-based games for this example. Some, like Snake, are very simple games that aren't complicated to master. But, they're incredibly popular because they keep users engaged in every moment of the game experience. Creating that same level of interest for your business is a great way to get customers hooked on your products. |
Examples of Wants
Since needs are the purpose of your product, its core offering, wants are the things that will help you develop the features and perks that make your solution unique and more competitive. Here are examples of what customers want when they buy from you:
| Wants | Examples |
|---|---|
Ease of Use |
Whatever the primary function of a product, customers want the experience of using the product to be simple and easy. With that in mind, it's important to identify and eliminate friction or cumbersome roadblocks where possible. In software production specifically, that might mean reducing the number of steps to get a certain result. For example, you might implement a "duplicate" feature for repetitive tasks, making the customer's life easier when executing their routine. |
Convenience |
Convenience is a similar want to keep in mind. Prospects want the process of buying, subscribing, receiving, implementing, and returning the product to be simple and easy. With this in mind, it's important to identify and eliminate friction in your operational models, particularly when it comes to purchasing or obtaining customer service. For example, you might implement a one-click purchase feature to reduce cumbersome steps in the buying process. |
Cost-Efficiency |
Because time and money are finite resources and are part of a person's livelihood (i.e. safety and security needs), price is understandably a factor in most purchasing decisions. If two similar products are completely equal, the more affordable option will often win out. However, the other factor here is value. If you can find a way to provide more value than competitors, you'll be able to gain an edge as prospective customers are evaluating. For this reason, you should always iterate how to deliver... and how to deliver in a way that's cost-efficient. For example, additional perks that your competitors don't have (more deliverables, a better experience, better customer service options, more durability, extra features, etc.) at the same price or a comparable one. |
Value or Flexibility |
In the spirit of ease of use, you should continually be iterating how your customers can get more bang for their buck out of your product. As alluded to in the previous example, customers want value in exchange for their investment, and value can often come in the form of flexibility. For example, this might manifest in the software world as integrations with other common software products your customers use so they can build a system that works for their needs (without siloing). It might also manifest in your service department as 24/7 support or being available on channels your customers prefer to communicate on. |
Style |
It makes sense that people want their products to address their needs in a way that's simple, easy, and convenient. However, it also makes sense that, if two products have the same features at the same price, the customer will factor in style and aesthetics. For example, if an individual is choosing between two evenly matched software systems, it's not hard to imagine that the one with the sleeker UX will win out. |
虽然以上都是很好的例子，但请记住，动机，需求和需求会因受众和您提供的内容而有所不同。这取决于您的创新解决方案，这将使您的目标买家疯狂。
How to Find out What People Want and Need in a Product
To identify your customers' wants and needs, you'll have to doresearch on who your buyers are。This can be done throughout the product development process.
但是,如果你不确定从哪里开始,下ing are a range of metrics you can use to get insight into what matters to your customers.
First Party Data
As outlined by HubSpot's Sophia Bernazzani,first-party datais "data that your company has collected directly from your audience." It's specific to your business and can highlight interesting patterns and trends occurring with your existing customers. You can use this data to identify customer needs and wants that are specific to the people who are already interacting with your business. Some first-party data reports that we recommend are:
Customer Behavior Analysis
Acustomer behavior analysis是一份报告，描述了不同目标受众群体的购买习惯。它使用customer journey mapto highlight how certain personas will react to different roadblocks. Using this report, you can look for consistencies between different customer segments, and then outline individual needs at different moments in the customer's journey
Product Usage Reports
产品使用报告包含有关客户当前如何使用您的产品或服务的有趣信息。他们拥有详细的分析，可以突出您产品中最常用的方面，并指出未充分利用或放弃的领域。使用最多的工具是客户从您的产品中需要的功能。仔细观察这些产品，并确定客户使用时的目标是什么。
RFM Analysis
AnRFM Analysisidentifies the most valuable customers engaging with your business by assessing their buying history. It measures the recency, frequency, and monetary value that a customer provides to a specific company. This information helps product personnel predict a customer's next purchase and allows them to plan their release dates in a timely manner.
Qualitative Data
When trying to determine needs and wants, qualitative data captures thevoice of the customer。该数据描述了客户的观点以及影响人们的事物，但不能以数值来衡量。您可以分析的一些定性报告是：
Customer Feedback
When customers aren't happy, it's an opportunity for your business to learn. Priceless information about users surface incustomer supportevery day, but sometimes it can be hard to sort through all of it. As a guideline, customers who are clearly angry or frustrated are communicating their needs to your business. Customers who are making suggestions typically are expressing their wants. Whilecustomer reviewsmay get repetitive, it's important to constantly sort through them to stay updated on the user's perspective.
Buyer Personas
For many marketing departments, developingbuyer personas是了解目标受众的第一步。这是因为角色查看对客户行为的影响，而这些行为不仅仅是他们的购买决策。产品人员也可以从这些角色中受益，因为他们根据自己的需求和需求细分目标受众。然后，开发人员可以使用此分类来创建特定角色所需的功能。
Customer Interviews
Holding focus groups or customer interviews is one way to directly question users about your company. You can ask them about individual aspects of your product and get immediate feedback from their responses. This allows you to isolate a specific situation observed then obtain an explanation for why it occurred. Information like this helps product managers guide their work when overseeing a new project.
Product Testing
Product testing should be carried out throughout the entire development process. These tests ensure that your new product or feature is going to be successful with your target audience. Here are some of the testing methods we recommend using during product development.
First-Click Testing
When you're working on your product or website's design, analyzing first-click tests is a great way to determine customer wants. First click tests give a participant a specific task on a website or software, then measures if and how long it takes for them to complete it. These tests indicate what customers want to do in a given situation, then highlights any obstacles in your design that prevents them from doing so. By running first-click tests throughout development, engineers can build a user-friendly interface that satisfies both customer needs and wants.
Usability Testing
In apost在HubSpot的营销博客上，我的同事Clifford Chi描述了usability testingas "a method of evaluating a product or website's user experience." Engineers and developers use these tests to determine whether customers can intuitively operate their product. One way to do this is to set up asystem usability scalethat surveys customers about their user experience using a scale of one to 10. Product management then takes this information and can tweak their developing product to fit the needs and wants of their users.
Sequential Monadic Testing
If your product team gets stuck deciding between different features or designs, you can usesequential monadic testingto choose the customer's preferred option. This test shows participants one concept, then asks them to compare its value to your alternatives. You can then repeat this process for as many features that you need to assess. This way you can see what your customers think about your ideas, particularly minor details, prior to creating them.
Marketplace Data
While it's a bit generic, marketplace data is another source to investigate when trying to understand your customer's expectations. These second and third-party data streams can portray macro-trends affecting an entire industry. Even though the data is not specific to your business, your product teams use this information to identify emerging customer needs and wants.
Competitor Products
Begin with observing your competitors and compare your product to other successful ones in your industry. If customers are buying your competitors' products over yours, then there must be a place where your team is falling short. Comparing your current products to the best ones in your market is a great way for developers to identify opportunities for product improvement.
趋势和立法机关
Product personnel should also stay up to date on rising social and political trends occurring in their industry. Changes in your customer's environment are going to affect their buying needs, so it's important for product management to stay on top of these developments. A new social trend or legislative measure can present a valuable opportunity for products owners to create timely solutions.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in December 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
Originally published May 7, 2021 5:00:00 PM, updated August 12 2021
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