What Is Your Customer’s Driving Need?

Want to target your marketing to customer concerns? It’s best to consider what drives your customer’s needs. Customers looking to buy a product have four basic needs that drive their decisions. These needs are:
-> Survival
-> Status
-> Social
-> Pleasure
In Survival mode, a customer is buying a product to meet a bodily need - for food, shelter, clothing and so forth. They may buy a puffer coat to protect themselves against the February chill, or invest in some spirulina powder to fight fibromyalgia.
In Status mode, customers buy to establish credibility. While this may seem like a pointless need, there are times when displaying status can help avoid misunderstandings with others, saving precious time. For example, a therapist in private practice might invest in an expensive frame for her diploma.
In Social mode, customers buy to meet their needs as members of a community. This can include their identity as a parent, spouse, friend, church member or neighbor. An example would be buying a bouquet of lilies for a friend’s baby shower.
Finally, in Pleasure mode, purchases are made solely for the feelings of joy, peace or excitement they bring us. We all buy things just for fun now and then, like designer coffee, jewelry or trips abroad. Customers who buy for pleasure are looking for items that provide a lasting high, whether from exceptional design or high functionality.
Niching down on your customer base can help you target your marketing campaigns to specific customer needs. By doing this, you can address it directly in your marketing. Understanding your customer niches is essential to building a strong marketing campaign, so analyze your selling data and figure out when, where and how your customers are buying.
