Without a great product that customers love, you will not have a business.

How do we know what customers really want? How do we build value propositions they love? Do we build it and let them come, or do we ask them what they want?

It’s not as simple as asking a customer what they want. A key to building a great value proposition or product is asking the right questions. In this post, we are focusing on a critical step: how your customers would like their lives to be, their desires, goals and aspirations. Our goal is to get in the mind of your customer.

We don’t just talk about your products or services here, this is all about your customer. It’s important that we keep it this way, in order to remove any bias from our research.

Talk about your customer’s gains, this can include functional utility, social gains, positive emotions, and cost savings.

Gains describe outcomes and benefits your customers want in their lives. Some gains are required, expected, or desired and some can even surprise them.

What savings will make your customers happy?

Let your customers answer this one, often they will try to talk to time, money and effort, in this question we are leaving the stage open for them to decide what makes them happy.

What will it take to make your customers’ jobs or lives easier?

This is a very open question, remember it’s all about your customer here. Your product or service does not need to be discussed, we are really asking them what they need without building a solution first.

How could their social life be improved, what social consequences do your customers desire?

Think about how their personal lives could be better off; such as career progression, could they afford that new car or will it help their relationship because there is less time spent at the office?

What would make your customer look good?

Is your customer looking for recognition, faster service delivery, higher quality of service, more money, or even a bigger house?

What would increase the power or status of your customer?

Let’s face it, everyone wants to look good, they won’t often admit it but everyone has desires to look good and progress or do they?

How do your customers measure performance or cost?

Which specific features do they enjoy?

Get closer to your product, ask them what features of your products and services they love. It’s easier to start off with another businesses products and draw them towards your own. We want to stay as natural as possible here.

What savings in terms of time, money, and effort would they value?

Make sure they talk about their daily lives here and don’t presume it has anything to do with your business. Will it make them look better? Will they get career progression? Or will it help them motivate their staff and get more done

What is your customer wanting the most?

Are they searching for good design, guarantees, specific or more features?

What quality or service levels do your customers expect, and what do they want more or less of?

There is often unspoken rules around the quality of service, one of the key frustrations is when these expectations are not met. Here we can directly speak to their expectations and get a better understanding of what is expected.

Does your customer love value propositions?

Ask your customer’s questions about existing businesses they deal with, and how they benefit their lives. It doesn’t have to be about your business. They may aspire to companies like Apple, Tesla or even Microsoft. Ask them for examples of what they love and how their lives are better off. For example, Xero makes beautiful accounting software, how does this affect them?

What do customers dream about?

Think about what keeps them up at night and what solutions have they considered.

What do your customers dream about achieving, or what would be a big relief to them?

How do your customers measure success and failure?

Aligning yourself with your customers KPI’s and measurements of success is vital. How will success affect their lives and how do they measure it?

Are your customers looking for lower cost, less investment, lower risk, or better quality?

Finding out what is most important to your customer is vital, often we think lower costs is more important. Quality of service at a lower cost? How do they feel about this?