We all know that customers want ever decreasing prices.
GM and Chrylser bankruptcy and bailout showed us how that thinking turns out.
So what do customers really want? Here are my top three ideas:
Solutions.
Customers want solutions. They don’t want to buy your product. They want to solve their problems.They want to see their problems go away. Are you selling products when they are looking for solutions? How is that working out?
Service.
Customers want service. They want it now. Lead time is so, so , 20th Century. It is a global, inter-networked- 24-7 world today. Some body has what they need. The first one to say yes gets the order.
Value.
Customers want value. Not cost. Value. Customers will pay for what they value. Not just pay for what it cost you, but for what they value. Is it really a “deal” if you have to take the “gi-normous” soda when all you really want is the sandwich? How much “soda” are you pushing to your customers when all they want is the sandwich?
Solutions. Help them solve their problems with <gasp!> the products that you can deliver this week. Service. It is no surprise that all mature economies become more and more service oriented. People want to be served. Customers are people. Value. The customer tries to get you to lower your price. you think that it is about lowering cost. What the customer really wants is higher value.
Thats what I think.
Solutions. Not products.
Service. Not promised delivery. Delivery!
Value. Not a deal where they get crap stuff they don’t really need.
These are the three things that customers want.
What do your customers want?
What do you want?
I’ll bet its the same things.
