What Every Customer Really Wants -- And How You Can Provide It

After 18 years in advertising, it finally hit me this week what every single client, customer, person and patron really wants -- and it's not what we're giving them. What we're giving customers are details, lots of details. They come in the form of product specifications, attributes, qualities, claims, guarantees, and service promises. These are all great but they don't scratch the real itch... they don't satisfy the real craving that nearly every person longs for throughout their day.

That constant craving is for meaning, the very human need for significance.

Think about it. When we are born, we are all basically blank slates -- empty notebooks upon which nothing yet is written. As we go through life we sense this blankness and we look to fill it in, write on it, doodle, draw, and color all over the pages. In doing so our little book of life begins to take on the qualities we want most... purpose, direction, meaning.

"The stongest connection you can make with your customer is not the tangibles you describe, but the intangibles you deliver."

How does this affect your company, products and branding? This insight provides an opportunity to connect with your customer on a much deeper level. If understood properly, you can help them create their story, strengthen their identity and add purpose to their lives. Busy commuters don't drink coffee at Starbucks because it's convenient, or cheap... they do so because of the affiliation it brings them, the sense of belonging, ritual, purpose... meaning.

So if that's the case, why do we so often describe and position our products and services in terms of their capabilities, functions and features? Does anyone really want to buy a 4,000 pound piece of metal with wheels? Or do they want the feeling of freedom that comes from driving a road hugging, top down convertible? The stongest connection you can make with your customer is not the tangibles you describe, but the intangibles you deliver. Build on that and you will build a loyal and profitable following.

Last month I shared how Rolex was not really in the watch business, but in the prestige business. A quality watch demands a fair price, but prestige demands even more. In this position, customers proudly state how much they paid, not how much they saved. Why? Because the product added to their sense of identity.

In thinking about your company's products and services, what purpose, what sense of meaning do you deliver that you are not currently sharing with your customers? Is there some way in which your enrich their lives, improve their experience, give them a greater sense of who they are? If you can connect to these emotional anchors, you will be building on bedrock. Your brand won't be subject to the commoditization and price shopping that so often occurs when companies fail to resonate on an emotional, meaningful level.

I share this with you because I believe that each of you is brilliant if you just allow that innate ability to shine. And when I say you are brilliant, it resonates within you because it's a truth, one that is stronger than adjective-filled copy. And the message is powerful because it's meaningful.