MARKETING STRATEGIES: What to do if your customers don’t know what they want

The easiest marketing problem to solve occurs where the customer knows what they want and the vendor recognises the need or problem and has a clear solution.

Providing the customer and vendor communicate using the same problem characteristics, a match can readily occur. But what happens when the customer is unclear of what solution they need or they are unable to clearly define their problem in terms which readily match to a vendor solution?

The customer may have some unsatisfactory situation and be seeking help to understand the problem or find a solution. Alternatively, the customer may be unaware they have a problem until something happens to expose it.

The customer may have a vague definition of a problem but no obvious solutions. The customer has to undertake more information searching to define the problem and/or find a possible solution. More often than not they are describing symptoms of the problem rather than a detailed description of the underlying causes. It is not uncommon for a customer to be aware of some level of dissatisfaction but not know where to go for a solution or not know what solution would be appropriate.

There are times when the customer knows a situation is not right but doesn’t know what the problem is. They have a feeling about the situation but can’t put their finger on the problem. Or sometimes they see the symptoms but don’t know the cause. Sales are down, inventories are too high, sales conversions are low, employee satisfaction is down and so on. They are not sure where to look for the source of the problems and certainly are far from seeking solutions.

Almost without exception, the problem, as they define it, will fall into some broad category of problems. It is a medical condition, a building design problem, a business issue and so on. This at least focuses the sector in which a solution is likely to be found.

Since there is no obvious match, the vendor needs to be able to catch the eye of the customer using a wide net of problem descriptions and attributes. The vendor needs to provide information on symptoms, ratios, benchmarks, characteristics or attributes which are attributed to the underlying problem. Using these descriptors, the customer, hopefully, will find a list of possible vendors.

Vendors often provide diagnostics or tools to assist customers to specify their problems. While they may start by using different language, the advantage of the diagnostic is that it provides a common language with which both can communicate. The vendor can then identify those situations where they have a solution.

This process of discovery should result in the customer finding a number of vendors who recognise the problem attributes. From this initial information, the vendor will work with the customer to solicit more relevant information, undertake testing and use diagnostic tools and surveys to zero in on the underlying problem. At this point, the vendor will be able to provide the customer with a more detailed specification of the product or service required to solve the problem in order for the customer to make the decision to purchase or not.

It may be that the customer is unable to precisely identify the problem until after some level of consultation with the vendor or service provider. Many personal professional services are in this category. Doctors normally carry out some form of diagnosis before they determine a problem. An accountant might collect data on the activity before recommending a solution. An engineer might conduct tests on a structure before suggesting remedial work.

The process of determining need might be an interactive one. The vendor uses a set of diagnostic tools or questions to elicit information which includes or excludes possible solutions. The interim steps themselves might involve the supply of products or services to resolve short-term problems or to elicit more information.

These situations are really problems of communication. Those vendors who understand how to describe their solutions in terms of symptoms, characteristics and attributes are more likely to attract customers. Those who provide descriptions of the diagnostic process they use to discover underlying problems are more likely to find a receptive customer.

Tom McKaskill is a successful global serial entrepreneur, educator and author who is a world acknowledged authority on exit strategies and the former Richard Pratt Professor of Entrepreneurship, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. A series of free eBooks for entrepreneurs and angel and VC investors can be found at his site here.