The four key customer needs

We often think that all we have to do to meet customer needs and expectations is to provide our product or service and they’ll be happy.

This simply isn’t the case.

The aim of any ecommerce store should be to have loyal, trustworthy customers who continually use your product or service. But to achieve this, you need to ask yourself: What do customers want?

Of course, there are many different types of consumers. And, as unique individuals, they are likely to have varying expectations. But as a general rule, the four crucial things a customer needs are:

• A fair price
• A good service
• A good product
• To feel valued

But identifying customer needs is only half the battle – you also need to know how to meet those expectations. Read on to find out more.

Fair price

Pricing should be important to you for revenue, but it’s also important to your customers. They need the pricing to be fair.

When deciding on your price structure, you’ll benefit from looking at your competitors’ ecommerce stores so you can gauge the customer needs and expectations. While we agree that price anchoring is not always the smartest way to decide on a strategy, it’s important to know where you stand in comparison to your competition.

If you are charging significantly more than your rivals, think seriously about whether your offering is better than theirs.

It’s okay to charge more but compensate with better customer service like a loyalty program or bonus features to justify the higher price point. Read this article for more information on this and other benefits of a loyalty program.

The key thing with pricing is to be transparent. A consumer needs to feel that they can trust a brand. So, whether you’re above or below the market rate, let your customers know why this is the case and exactly what they get for their money.

Good service

Good customer service has been proven time and time again to allow businesses’ to charge more. It’s about meeting customer needs, and sometimes exceeding them, by offering timely solutions with minimum fuss.

Customers continually suggest they would be happy paying more for a product if it meant it would improve the level of customer service. So, you need to think about how you can meet your customer’s needs and expectations.

Having a strong customer support team increases the level of trust your consumers have for you. They understand problems will be addressed and fixed in a timely manner and they’re more receptive when things do end up going wrong. You could even reward customers with loyalty points if they have a problem post-purchase. Learn more ways to build post-purchase trust here.

Although good service is a key consumer need, it’s not an excuse to increase your prices. If you can keep your products affordable and provide excellent customer service, even better.

A good product

When it comes to determining customer needs, creating a solid product is obviously a major priority. There is no point in excessive manufacturing costs if no one is buying your poor product.

Be confident in your product, be open to suggestions to improve, and always aim to give the customer exactly what they need, not what you think they need. To work out what customers want, conduct appropriate research with market analysis and customer surveys. This will help you to identify your consumers’ needs and tailor your product development around them.

To feel valued

Feeling valued is the one customer need that most ecommerce stores overlook. Some companies seem to forget that without your consumers, you would have no business.

A great example of this was when UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s who, upon receiving a letter from a three-year-old child, changed the name of one of their products.

This also went viral. So, not only did Sainsbury’s effectively show how much they valued and listened to their customer, but they also used the experience as an excellent marketing campaign. Building trust between you and your target audience pays too: 79% of customers say they’ll be loyal to a brand if they can trust that they’ll use their data in a helpful way.

You can determine how valued your customers feel by looking at your Net Promoter Score (NPS). This scale tells you how likely customers are to recommend you to others. Use our free NPS app to calculate your score.

Meet your customer needs and expectations with LoyaltyLion

Your customers need more than just a good product to remain loyal to you. Remembering these requirements will help you to start adding a customer loyalty strategy to your ecommerce business. Being aware of the different types of consumers your business targets, identifying the customer needs, and creating a strategy to meet those expectations will increase your sales and promote a loyal customer base.