The biggest difference between customer demand and customer need or want is that the demand must have the condition of being able to be fulfilled by the buying power.
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Customer Demand Example
If you were going to get married, your future mother-in-law talks with you: “If you want to marry my daughter, you must have a house in the city center before marriage.”
So at this time, a house in the city center has become your need. But is this your demand?
If you have a monthly salary of 5,000USD and a deposit of 50,000USD, your parents will not help you, and the price of a house in the city center is at least 1 million, then you almost have no purchasing power at all, so this house is not your demand.
At this moment, if we are real estate salesmen, no matter how hard we work on this young man, the final result may only be zero.
Customer Demand Management in Sales Work
This also means that in the sales scenario, how much the customer wants to cooperate with us is not the most important, whether he has the ability to pay or has enough budget is also crucial.
Otherwise, even if our product or solution can perfectly solve the customer’s problem, but the cost completely beyond his capacity, such a solution is worthless.
Therefore, as a sales, it is important to learn the customer’s budget range in the initial stage of contacting customers.
How to Know Customer Budget?
Generally, there are two ways to know the budget, directly ask your customer or tell the price range of your solution and then ask whether it can be acceptable.
1. Ask Directly.
For example, on the basis of gaining trust from the customer (this is very important, otherwise why should the customer tell you?), you can directly ask “do you have a preliminary budget for solving this problem?” (not target price)
2. Tell Your Price Range First.
For example, when the customer has not yet formed a clear budget concept, actively inform him of your price range (this is not a quotation).
If the customer thinks this range is workable, your both can continue to talk. If this price range is not acceptable, either leave or find decision-makers with the right of budget modification (e.g. CEOs, CFOs), discuss the possibility of increasing budget.
Customer Demand Characteristics Analysis
Due to the limitations of human nature, few customers may directly tell us their current problems, even if a customer who is suffering from the supplier’s long delay delivery problem.
When you ask the SPIN problem question “Is there any problem with your current supplier?”, often the buyer’s answer is “everything is fine”.
That’s why sometimes the customer’s request to us is often only an expression of his expectation, instead of the real demand.
2. Demand is almost exist
For example, for customers, finding a more cost-effective supplier is almost an eternal demand, but why do they often respond “I don’t need”?
Because there is a demand does not mean that they will act; and if there is a problem, it does not mean that they will work immediately to solve the problem; having a goal does not mean that it must be achieved.
Only when feeling “pain points” may customers act and then purchase, so we can have sales. The deeper the pain, the greater the determination to change, and the larger the budget may be. Therefore, the importance of “pain points” may be formed before the demand.
Final Thought
Meeting and analyzing consumer/customer demand is important to our business. Most companies do not create demand, but meet demand. Apple creates our demand, but only a few great companies can do it.
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