Anticipating Customer Needs

Imagine you have a child who will go to university for the first time this week.

Imagine this child will be living on campus and, for the first time in said child's life, will need the type of household tools and supplies that were readily available to use at home.

Now take a moment to think of 20 things your child will need to be ready to live on their own.

I'm willing to bet that simple exercise was more difficult than you thought it would be.

And I'm willing to bet that if you actually had a child moving away this week, a list like the one IKEA provided in its Canadian stores might help immensely.

Except IKEA went beyond just providing a list.

They put everything on that list in a large, plastic container (which, quite conveniently, is one of the 20 items on their list) and will sell you this "University Starter Box" for just $99.

You may notice that if you add up the retail selling price of everything included in the kit, the total would be $123.82... yet the box is sold for just $99.

Here's the thing: the value of the kit isn't in the discount.

The value comes from helping you to anticipate what your child might need and making it convenient for you to buy it.

And that’s worth far more than the $25 savings IKEA's starter kit also provides.

Now some of you may rightly point out that the contents of this kit alone would not be enough for someone heading to university for the first time and that additional purchases would be required.

Some may argue that certain items IKEA has chosen to include in this “University starter kit” wouldn’t be particularly useful for some first-year university students; would all those kitchen supplies be needed if your child is moving into a dorm room without a kitchen, for instance?

Some would go so far as to say that some of the items included are completely unnecessary and should be swapped with items that a student would find far more useful. Would an extension cord not be more useful than a chopping board? Aren’t bed sheets more necessary than a plastic box? Wouldn’t you take towels over a TACKAN?

And, of course, there’s the sustainability argument: Why buy a pre-assembled kit at all when you can ask your friends and families for any old supplies they no longer need?

All of these are fair and valid points. But consider that a starter kit containing absolutely everything a student would need would be prohibitively expensive for most, even if IKEA could figure out how to curate a kit that would be universally useful in every possible “new university student” scenario.

Even despite its shortcomings, this kit would be a welcome find for a convenience-oriented shopper who’s willing to deal with a few unnecessary items in exchange for having much of what you need conveniently packaged in a single plastic tub.

We don't all have children heading off to live on (or near) campus this week.

But for those of us who have businesses, we all have customers who could benefit from our help in identifying what they need in advance of when they realize they need it.

And if you need a few thought-starters, I’ll provide a few fabricated examples.

Walmart: "We notice that in your last click-and-collect order, you purchased infant diapers. It's common for infants to get uncomfortable baby rashes, so while we hope you won't need it, we'd like to offer you this coupon code for $5 off a jar ofSudocrem on your next order."

Netflix: "We notice you binged all three seasons of Titans as soon as they were released, and thought you might like to know that Season 4 arrives in two months. To ensure you don't miss it, we've added it to your "My List" and will send you an email on the day it's released to let you know it's available for binging, but just click here if you don't want us to do this."

That Wheel And Tire Shop: "Hi there! Our records show you usually bring us your cars during the second week of November for us to put on your winter tires, but you haven't booked your appointment yet... so I thought I'd send you a friendly reminder. If you'd like, you can use myTidyCal link to book something now and reserve your spot. Also, keep in mind that they're forecasting early snow this year, so you might want to grab one of the few remaining spots I have available during the first week of November."

If you know your customers and the reasons they buy from you, anticipating what they’ll need in advance of when they’ll need it shouldn’t be difficult.

And any time spent understanding your customers to proactively solve their problems and make their lives just a little bit easier?

That’s almost certainly to be time well spent.

David Pullara is the Principal ofdp Ventures, a company offering consulting, advising, training, and fractional CMO services to B2C and B2B businesses that understand effective marketing is the key to accelerated growth. David has over 20 years of experience in business management, brand strategy, integrated marketing communications, and product innovation; he’s spent over a decade working with world-renowned, consumer-centric organizations like Starbucks, Yum! Brands (Pizza Hut), Coca-Cola, and Google.

David shares his thoughts on business, marketing, and brand-building weekly via his blog at dpthoughts.ca.