A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc. made this remark in the context of discussing innovation and product development. Jobs emphasized the importance of visionary thinking in creating products that people would love, even if they couldn’t articulate their desires beforehand.

Bridging the gap between what customers think they want and what truly adds value to their lives is a key challenge in the business world. 

When engaging with customers, it’s essential to distinguish between understanding what they want and discerning what truly matters to them. Customers’ wants are often immediate and specific desires—features they think will solve their problems or enhance their experience. On the other hand, what matters to them encompasses their deeper needs, values, and long-term goals. Successful businesses excel in aligning their offerings with these underlying needs rather than just the surface wants.

The Art of Listening: Active Engagement

To genuinely understand what matters to customers, active listening is crucial. Active listening involves more than just hearing words; it requires paying attention to non-verbal cues, asking insightful questions, and demonstrating empathy. This approach helps uncover the motivations and pain points that drive customer behavior.

By truly understanding and addressing what matters to customers, businesses not only enhance their customer relationships but also drive their own growth and development.

Moving Beyond Features to Benefits

One of the primary reasons customers might not know what they want is because they focus on features rather than benefits. Features are specific attributes of a product or service, while benefits are the positive outcomes that those features provide. When businesses focus on communicating benefits, they tap into what truly matters to customers.

For example, consider a fitness app. Customers might want a variety of exercise routines (a feature), but what truly matters to them is achieving better health and well-being (the benefit). By emphasizing how the app can improve their overall health, businesses can connect more deeply with customers’ core needs.

Innovative Solutions: Anticipating Customer Needs

Innovative companies often anticipate needs that customers have yet to recognize. This proactive approach involves understanding trends, analyzing customer data, and leveraging insights to create solutions that customers may not have explicitly asked for but will significantly benefit from.

Henry Ford famously remarked

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.

The importance of visionary thinking in business cannot be understated when it comes to innovative products and solutions. By looking beyond immediate wants, businesses can develop groundbreaking products and services that redefine customer expectations.

Building Trust through Authenticity

Understanding what matters to customers also involves building trust through authenticity. Customers are more likely to engage with brands that are transparent, ethical, and aligned with their values. Authenticity fosters loyalty and encourages customers to share their genuine needs and preferences.

When businesses operate with a sincere desire to meet customers’ true needs, they create a foundation of trust and mutual respect.

The Role of Feedback: Continuous Improvement

Feedback is a powerful tool for understanding what matters to customers. By actively seeking and responding to customer feedback, businesses can continuously refine their offerings to better align with customer needs. This iterative process demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

Customer satisfaction is rooted not in fulfilling desires, but in understanding and addressing the core needs that drive those desires.

The distinction between what customers want and what matters to them is critical in the business landscape. By engaging in active listening, focusing on benefits, anticipating needs, building trust through authenticity, and leveraging feedback, businesses can move beyond fulfilling immediate desires to addressing deeper, more meaningful needs. This approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also drives long-term success and growth.