Are You a Need or Want Business?

‘I have a leaking tap; I really need to get it fixed’.

‘I want to have a holiday. But before I book anything, I’ll have to wait until I get paid at the end of the month’.

We are faced with need or want choices everyday. When running any business, the whole point is to attract customers in order to make sales and of course, profitable sales! In order to make these, it is important to view what you sell – product or service – from your customers’ perspective and not yours. Do they need or want what you offer?

People buy firstly for emotional reasons rather than logical ones ie how a product or service makes them feel, rather than how much it costs. Even with this in mind and with the exception of the impulse buyer (‘I want it now!’), the customer will consider the headline question. Ergo, the ‘want’ businesses have to work harder than the ‘need’ ones to both attract their customers and then sell to them.

Sometimes of course, the customer does not know what they want and you have to tell them..but that’s for another article!