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13 Comments to “What’s Your Answer? Do Consumers Always Know Their Own Needs Better?”

1. December 11th, 2008 at 9:04 am
   Karin H. said

   Though one Liz, and I’m not even really sure I understand the real question.

   Do consumers always know their own needs better?

   IMHO it depends on the amount and quality of information that is available to them at the moment they think there is a need.

   Like the email I just received from a DIY-er which wooden floor has gone horribly wrong due to not gathering (or following) enough quality information.
   What was their need? A wood floor or a wood floor with added advice on where, how and why to store it and install it in such a way it would have prevented all these problems (and costs!).

   We - the information supplier in this case - knew/know better and could have advice them more/better on their needs. Now there is just this (their) problem - and they still need a wood floor.

   (Sorry, long story, and still not sure I understood the question.)

   Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

2. December 11th, 2008 at 9:06 am
   Frank Martin said

   Sometimes!

   There are plenty of instances that the public has embraced a concept or product that failed in focus groups or marketing research, because the test group just could not grasp the utility of the new product.

   And there are hundreds of instances in which the publics’ frustrations has resulted in a new product that addresses or solves those frustrations.

   So the public knows what frustrates them, and lean on smart, creative people to solve those problems.

3. December 11th, 2008 at 9:16 am
   Sean Bohan said

   Old school, advertising was intended to inform and entertain - giving the customer reasons for why PRODUCT X would make your day easier, make your sheets whiter-brighter-cleaner-better and by extension, make you feel whiter-brighter-cleaner-better.

   Some agencies talk about “demand generation”, through databases and creative and “targeted messaging” converting leads into paying customers. One of the current purposes of advertising is to make the user feel bad - their life/laundry isn’t want it could be and the nirvana that compes with Product X.

   Users know what they need, in general (insert a Maslow graphic here). But there is something powerful about DISCOVERY. Users want to find new things, be the first in a game or virtual world, to have the iPhone or BBerry Storm or drive the Mustang or Prius or Mini Cooper. Discovery leads to recognition and that has an impact on the ego.

   The promise of Social Media (imho) is the bi-directional exchange of ideas and needs. Companies want to share all the great things about their products or services. Users want to give feedback, see their impact on the product/service offering or at least just feel like they have been heard. We are finally reaching an age where this is possible - users can give DIRECT feedback to a company that values their opinion, and Companies can LISTEN to what users really want without the filters and BS of the focus group or surveys (which are fundamentally flawed).

   I dont think users know everything that they want - if they did the world wouldnt need marketers. I think users, Social Media firms and Clients ALL want to discover things on their terms.

   The less we try to control the user (old school), the more they will tell us. But that “letting go” requires flexibility and agility in how we engage and carry these conversations.

   This is less like driving a car and more like sailing: there are forces at work (users), like the wind and currents, that we cant control, and we need to take different approaches and angles of attack to get where we want to go.

4. December 11th, 2008 at 11:49 am
   Robert Hruzek said

   I used to have a glib answer to that: “Yes!” (OK, maybe not so glib, but still…) But now I think about the many products on the market now that no one knew they wanted… until they saw them, played with them, or watched someone else rave about them.

   So maybe it’s like Sean mentioned (Maslow’s Hierarchy), that consumers know, in a fundamental way, what they need. But without that two-way conversation, there’s simply no way of knowing ahead of time what will resonate with them. (And sometimes, not even then; can you say, “Edsel”?)

5. December 11th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
   Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach said

   I think the majority of consumers know what they *want*, but not perhaps what they *need*.

   Research online will almost always cure that….but sadly not everyone takes advantage of that. And folks end up buying items that don’t take care of the root issue.

   Data points, Barbara

6. December 11th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
   SpaceAgeSage -- Lori said

   Isn’t it a conversation we need to have so we are all on the same page — an exploration to find the connecting points that make transactions work?

7. December 11th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
   Richard Reeve said

   I go back to what Guy said here a few days ago…any conversation about you, your service or your product should be marching orders to go and be helpful.

   In some cases, like moving an organization from web 1.0 to 2.0, it might very well be that you know the needs of the client or audience better then they do. The challenge then is to frame the differences so they can deduce their glaring need for themselves.

8. December 11th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
   Tom O'Brien said

   Well, I don’t think consumers always know what they need - like iPhones, but they do always know what they want to talk about and we ignore these conversations at our peril.

   Since there is a giant conversation raging out there on the internet, don’t we, as marketers, owe it to ourselves to listen and understand what they are saying and the ideas, insight and implications for our business?

   TO’B

9. December 11th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
   Jonathan Fields said

   Interesting question. Thing is, even if you answered it “yes, clients DO know what they need,” there’s a second big question…”do they act on that knowledge?” And, if so, do they act consistent with their needs.

   If not, it’s easy to blame the client. But, c’mon, in the end, if the vast majority of the students don’t get what the teacher is teaching…do we blame the students?

   So many people and businesses seem not to get the benefit of social media, maybe it’s time to look not at what’s wrong with them, but what’s wrong with how we’re communicating with them.

   Just thinkin’ out loud here…

10. December 11th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Holy Cow!
    Look at all of this fabulous information!

    Truth is I was sure at first that customers would always know their needs better than folks that tried to serve them. Then I spent time looking at various situations and reading about it.

    It’s not always so. We don’t.

    Sometimes we don’t because we don’t know what’s available. Sometimes we haven’t taken the time to look at what we could be. Sometimes we’re uninformed. Sometimes just don’t want to … or we’re just in plain denial.

    You’ve all brought lots of reasons that I never even imagined. Thank you!

11. December 15th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
    Greg said

    Consumers do not always know what they want or need (although sometimes they do). The role of the professional is to determine what the customer wants and needs and deliver it to them.

    For example, when I go to the deli and order a ruben, I do not want to explain what a ruben is and how they should make one, I just want my sandwich.

    I work in IT. Often I am asked to spec a computer or system. By discussing the needs and wants of an end user, I can make an accurate recommendation. The traveler who needs long battery life to check email is different from the accountant who stays put crunching numbers who is different from the graphic artist. Often, if I let these users dictate their equipment, they get overkill (wasting money) or worse, they do not get enough system to fill their needs.

12. December 16th, 2008 at 11:22 am
    Bill Cusick said

    I think the overwhelming evidence of the last few years, especially in neuroscience and psychology, regarding how we all think (irrationally, emotionally, and subconsciously) suggests that consumers are usually ill equipped to articulate their deep-seated needs. Studies show that we’re all pretty poor at knowing what we want. In fact our friends are better at predicting our needs and behaviors than we are. So the answer, I think, is to not ask, but rather observe customer behavior and extrapolate from that. The behavior is the ultimate truth.

13. February 4th, 2009 at 5:53 am
    3 of 10 Social Media Commandment: From Honesty to Trust | Kyle Lacy, Social Media - Indianapolis said

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