What Does My Ideal Customer Want or Need?

Now that you know who your ideal customer is and what they're like, you can begin to answer the next question which is,

“What is it that my ideal audience needs or wants”?

By developing something with the needs and desires of your audience in mind, you will set yourself up to be able to create something that you know your audience will respond to and ultimately be interested in purchasing.

Sure, you can develop some items and put them out there and see if anyone likes them and buys them.

That is totally fine to do and you might have some success with that.

But if you really want to set yourself up for the best chance of selling your products, try and solve a problem or satisfy a desire that they have.

Based on their interests, gender, age and geographical location you can determine a lot about someone and what their needs or wants might be.

(Did you answer the 10 questions about your ideal customer that we covered in last weeks post? Do that before reading further!)

If you don’t have a product developed yet, addressing a need is going to be the quickest way to successfully launch your side hustle.

What you are making should solve a problem or address a need that your audience or ideal customer currently has.

This need could be many things and could be as simple a need for a wallet to hold money, ID and credit cards.  

Or the need could be more of a desire.

You know how sometimes people say to you, "omg I NEED that new pair of shoes or I NEED that new tool" when we both know that they don't really NEED it? 

These are not exactly needs but more of desires. They don't need these things, but they want them, which still makes this a valid area for you to address and tap into when thinking about the product that you'll develop.  

What are the most common kinds of needs/desires? 

FUNCTIONAL NEED  

A functional need is something that can be solved with a product that serves a specific purpose. What is the product or item that you could make that would solve a functional need?

Maybe your ideal customers are dog owners who need a leash for their dog. This is a very specific need that you are solving. You know know that every dog owner needs a leash for their pet and so if you create leashes then you are solving this functional need for them. 

INTERESTING OR CREATIVE  

Sometimes the need that you’re solving is more about what the ideal customer's personal tastes or desires are. Perhaps they really like creative leather jewelry with hand-tooled inlays. The more ornate and detailed, the more they love it.

This is something that they value and desire and it is decorative.

This is a great desire to tap into and usually the type of person that appreciates and enjoys hand-tooled inlays is more likely to value the effort and artistry behind the piece as well.

QUALITY AND DURABILITY GUARANTEE  

What if you could tell your customer that they would never need to buy another belt or wallet again and that you can guarantee that your product will last a lifetime.  

Now you might be thinking, I don’t know if I can promise that in all honesty which is fine and you shouldn't if you don't think you can.

But if you’re using traditional methods and quality materials and you can offer some sort of guarantee where you'll replace the item if it does break within a certain period of time, this would be an example satisfying a quality and durability need.

Not only is a guarantee of quality impressive to a customer but it speaks volumes to the value of your product.

This allows you to be able to price your item fairly for both you and the customer.   

So you can see that the types of needs and desires are varied and based on your ideal customer you need to produce with these things in mind.

Determining these needs and wants of your customer will help later on so you know who to market to and it will help to inform your decisions about where to sell online, and in person.

If you have an audience ask them what they want. 

If you don’t have one yet, then think about your ideal customer, what are they like, what do they want and what do they need? 

Think about your product. Who would want it and why? Get as specific as possible.