Fullfilling Consumer Needs at a Primative Level

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:08:31 GMT

Who is fullfilling your customers needs? It better be you, not your competition!

In today’s slippery slope we call marketing; we believe that as a whole, we are heading in the right direction, and it all comes down to one thing. User Experience. Which is no longer just a word used strictly by Steve Jobs and all of his techie friends. It has evolved into an all encompassing term for a simple belief, which is: human beings want to share their experiences with others, whether good or bad.

“User” is not limited to the web, as we all use products, objects, and even people which we call a “Service”. Having a positive experience with any of these categories is highly dependent on one key formula. We are human beings and we have primitive needs that we are constantly seeking to fulfill. Those needs are simple and easy to remember. It begins with the need to feel protected, then evolves into the need to feel accepted and finally becomes the need to feel unique. This is what we have to remember when discussing user experiences.

 

Remember why we buy

 

• You feel protected when you purchase a product from a reputable company?
• Do you feel accepted when you own a product that all of your friends or family own?
• Do you feel unique when you own something that nobody else has?

That is why you should care about user experiences as a small business owner. This is the reason we all should care about it when we engage other people on a daily basis. If you walk away from a conversation not fulfilling a human need that is innate in you - whether its feeling protected, accepted, or unique - then how else should you feel? My personal belief is this, if you are not fulfilling the primitive need, you are only standing in the way.

 

Fulfill the primate needs to make a positive user experience

Don’t kid yourself; it’s all about making it positive. Your product could be the best of its kind, or your service the most competent but if your “users” walk away from you with a feeling contrary to the primitive needs mentioned earlier, obviously you are not providing a Positive User Experience.

Now believe it or not you have been on the receiving end of a user experience before. So here’s a quick test to see how you can relate:

 

• When was the last time someone went above and beyond your expectations?
• Do you recall a time when someone out of the blue contacted you just to see how you have been? With no ulterior motives?
• When has someone made you feel like you can trust them?

Keep in mind that these questions can be quickly related to family and friends, but why not business? What has made us think that in business you can’t apply the same methodology to clients as you can with friends?

Remembering those same questions every time you engage a client can change their perspective of your company instantly if you just keep in mind that they are seeking to fulfill their humanistic needs as well. So next time you pick up the phone to schedule a service call, or up sell to a new and better product, remember: User Experience! A person wants to share their experiences and now whether good or bad is up to you.

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