2.1.2
Customer Needs
Customer Needs
Customer Needs
Customers' needs are the things that people can't live without. For example, Severn Trent provides water to people's homes in the United Kingdom. Addressing customers' needs involves four things:


Price
Price
- A customer may only want to pay a certain amount for a product.


Quality
Quality
- A customer will look for a certain standard or feature when buying a product.


Choice
Choice
- A customer may want choice of certain aspects of the product.
- For example, Nike lets customers buy shoes in different colours and even lets them customise them.


Convenience
Convenience
- A customer may look for convenience when buying a product.
The Importance of Identifying and Satisfying Customer Needs
The Importance of Identifying and Satisfying Customer Needs
A consumer becomes a customer once a product or service has been sold to them. A business should identify the needs of potential customers and it should adapt to the changing needs of existing customers.


Consumers will buy it
Consumers will buy it
- If a firm is identifying and meeting customers' needs then it is more likely that they will buy a product or service.


Market-driven
Market-driven
- Being market-driven rather than product-driven means being driven by customers’ needs and then fulfilling them. This can:
- Increase sales.
- Improve current products and customer satisfaction.
The Market-Driven Approach
The Market-Driven Approach
It is important for businesses to identify and satisfy customer needs. Being market-driven means focusing on customers' needs, rather than building a product and then searching for people to buy it. This can let a firm:


Find the correct marketing mix
Find the correct marketing mix
- Identifying customers’ needs lets a business know how their product can be designed to serve customers best.
- It also lets a company learn where customers shop, where to promote the product or service, which product/service to promote and what price customers are willing to buy a product/service.


Avoid costly mistakes
Avoid costly mistakes
- Developing a new product or making adjustments to existing ones can need a lot of investment.
- Being market-driven and developing products that customers need or want can avoid costly errors.


Be competitive
Be competitive
- If a business satisfies a customer’s needs better than competitors do, then it is likely that a consumer will buy their product.
- So identifying and satisfying customers’ needs is even more important when competing with businesses selling similar products.
- Adapting to new customer needs is important for staying competitive as the business environment changes.
1Exploring Business
1.1Features of Business Organisations
1.2Organisation of Businesses
1.3Business Environment
1.3.1External Influences
1.3.2Political & Legal Change
1.3.3Economic Environment
1.3.4Social & Technological Environment
1.3.5Lifestyle & Technological Environment
1.3.6Corporate Social Responsibility
1.3.7The Competitive Environment
1.3.8Innovation
1.3.9Risk & Uncertainty
1.3.10Porter's Five Forces
1.3.11SWOT Analysis
2Marketing Campaigns
2.1Marketing
3Business Finance
3.1Sources of Finance
3.2Financial Planning
3.3Financial Statements
4International Business
4.1Globalisation
4.2International Business
4.3International Economic Environment
4.4Factors Affecting International Business
5Principles of Management
5.1Management & Leadership
5.2Theories of Motivation
6Business Decision Making
6.1Business Principles & Practices
6.2Quality Management
6.3Human Resources
6.4Documents & Business Decisions
Jump to other topics
1Exploring Business
1.1Features of Business Organisations
1.2Organisation of Businesses
1.3Business Environment
1.3.1External Influences
1.3.2Political & Legal Change
1.3.3Economic Environment
1.3.4Social & Technological Environment
1.3.5Lifestyle & Technological Environment
1.3.6Corporate Social Responsibility
1.3.7The Competitive Environment
1.3.8Innovation
1.3.9Risk & Uncertainty
1.3.10Porter's Five Forces
1.3.11SWOT Analysis
2Marketing Campaigns
2.1Marketing
3Business Finance
3.1Sources of Finance
3.2Financial Planning
3.3Financial Statements
4International Business
4.1Globalisation
4.2International Business
4.3International Economic Environment
4.4Factors Affecting International Business
5Principles of Management
5.1Management & Leadership
5.2Theories of Motivation
6Business Decision Making
6.1Business Principles & Practices
6.2Quality Management
6.3Human Resources
6.4Documents & Business Decisions
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