It is much harder to market something people need versus something people want. For most people, need isn’t enough to convince them to get what you got. They must want it. And it works best when it’s their idea that they want it.
If you can make a product that people already want without you having to convince them, you are light years ahead of the game.
Similarly, if you can effectively engage an audience that already wants your product rather than target an audience that requires you to educate them on why they need it, you’ll save a lot of time and have a much better return.
Who wants what you’ve got? How much time are you spending with them? Do you even know how to find them?
Update: Seth says it very well with his post on finding the people who naturally want to say “YES!”
3 responses so far ↓
Chris Hoskin // May 4, 2007 at 4:18 pm
I couldn’t agree more.
People DO buy what they WANT.
Perversely though, they also WANT ‘more’ than what they buy. They WANT extreme customer service, a reward for their loyalty, a bonus of some kind - all the time. And that’s a tough gig to keep up with.
Chris @ rawstylus.wordpress.com
bdunc1 // May 5, 2007 at 6:27 am
Chris - Great point. You can’t just assume that what people want stops with the product itself. It’s the whole experience that they want. And that they’ll pay more for, too.
It’s interesting that customer service has become such a differentiator in today’s society. Not that is hasn’t always been that way, but it seems as though people really notice the good service and really point out the bad service more than they used to. Maybe it’s cuz personal interaction isn’t quite as necessary as it once was, so we expect much more out of the little we do get during a business transaction.
Give Them What They Want « Brett’s Blog // May 23, 2007 at 1:02 pm
[...] post really takes the same slant as my Need vs. Want post from a few weeks ago, but I think it might clarify the point a bit [...]
Leave a Comment