Article • 10 min read
17 common types of customer needs (+ how to meet them)
Understanding customer needs is essential for building loyalty and driving business growth. Explore the most common types of customer needs and discover strategies to meet them in this comprehensive guide.
Last updated October 22, 2024
What are customer needs?
Customer needs encompass the factors, requirements, and expectations that define a positive customer experience from the customer’s perspective. Understanding and fulfilling these needs effectively is key to delivering exceptional service and building customer loyalty.
People don’t generally open their wallets to spend money without getting something in return. Even when making a donation, there’s an incentive like feeling good or connecting to a cause. To be successful, businesses need to tap into unmet customer needs and offer solutions.
That sounds simple, but how do you actually find out what’s on your customers’ minds? In this article, we’ll go over different types of customer needs, how to identify them in your own customers, and some practical strategies for meeting them effectively.
In this article:
- 17 main types of customer needs
- Why are customer needs important?
- How to identify customer needs
- How to meet customer needs
- Meet your customers’ needs with Zendesk
17 main types of customer needs
According to Ben Motteram, principal and CX expert, most customers have 17 basic needs when they interact with an organization.
1. Friendliness
Friendliness is the most basic customer need, and it is associated with things like courtesy and politeness. Customers value warm, approachable, and courteous interactions with businesses. Friendliness fosters a positive experience and encourages repeat business.
Example: A support agent who greets customers with a nice message, calls them by name, and engages in friendly conversation.
2. Empathy
Customers need to know the organization understands and appreciates their needs and circumstances. Empathy involves listening and responding to customer needs with compassion.
Example: A customer service agent who patiently listens to a customer’s complaint about a defective product and offers a sincere apology and a swift resolution.
3. Fairness
Customers expect fair treatment, including transparent pricing and equitable policies, as part of a customer-focused approach.
Example: A retailer with a clear and consistent return policy that ensures all employees treat customers equally when contacting a support team to return a product.
4. Control
Customers appreciate having control over their purchasing decisions and experiences. This includes having the autonomy to make decisions during the purchasing process and the flexibility to manage their choices after the sale.
Example: An online streaming service that offers customizable subscription plans, a 30-day free trial, and options to adjust, pause, or cancel the service.
5. Alternatives
Customers want choice and flexibility from customer service. They want to know there is a range of options available to satisfy them. Offering multiple options or alternatives ensures customers can find a solution that best fits their needs and preferences.
Example: A customer service agent handling a complaint about a defective product offers the customer the choice to either return the item for a full refund or receive a replacement product at no additional cost.
6. Information
Customers need clear, accurate, and comprehensive information to make informed decisions. Detailed product descriptions, reviews, and usage instructions are essential.
A well-organized knowledge base can significantly enhance customer satisfaction by providing easily accessible answers to common questions and issues. This allows customers to quickly find the information they’re looking for without contacting customer support.
Example: An online electronics store that provides detailed specifications, user reviews, and video demonstrations for each product, as well as a knowledge base with FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and how-to articles.
7. Time
Customers’ time is valuable, and organizations need to treat it as such. To deliver on customer expectations, CX teams need customer service software that arms them with tools to respond to customers quickly and effectively.
Example: An e-commerce company uses an AI agent, a sophisticated type of chatbot, to instantly answer common customer inquiries about order status, shipping times, and return policies. This allows customers to get immediate responses 24/7 without waiting for a human agent, saving them significant time and effort.
8. Functionality
In the context of customer support, functionality refers to the ability of agents, processes, and service tools to address customer needs accurately and promptly. This includes providing relevant information and offering efficient problem-solving capabilities to meet customer expectations.
Example: A functional knowledge base on a company’s website that is well-organized, easily searchable, and regularly updated. It contains comprehensive information on products, services, and common issues, allowing customers to quickly find answers to their questions and solve problems independently.
9. Quality
Customers expect high standards in the service they receive. High-quality customer service can be characterized by:
A knowledgeable and well-trained support staff
Timely and accurate responses to inquiries
Consistent performance across all touchpoints
Proactive problem-solving and issue resolution
Example: A premium airline known for its exceptional customer service ensures customers feel valued and supported at every interaction, from booking to post-flight follow-up.
10. Convenience
Customers seek convenience in their interactions with businesses. This includes easy access, simple processes, and time-saving features.
Example: A telecommunications company that offers a user-friendly self-service portal that allows customers to check their account balance, pay bills, troubleshoot common issues, and chat with customer service representatives in real time, all without the need to make a phone call or visit a physical store.
11. Cost-effectiveness
Customers look for products and services that provide good value for money, balancing costs and benefits. If you aren’t providing customers with a valuable and positive experience, you risk losing them to competitors.
Example: A cloud storage service offering scalable pricing plans based on storage needs, ensuring customers only pay for their use.
12. Options
Providing a variety of support channels allows customers to choose the customer service experience that best suits their needs and preferences. Omnichannel customer service empowers customers to interact with businesses in the most comfortable and convenient ways.
Example: A company’s tech support that offers an omnichannel experience with email, live chat, phone, and self-service options. An integrated ticketing system ensures efficient issue resolution regardless of the channel used, and customers can check ticket status in real time.
13. Trust
Customers must trust that the brand will deliver on its promises and protect their personal information. Trust is built through consistent, reliable, and honest interactions. Customers need to trust that businesses will deliver on their promises and prioritize customer data privacy.
According to our Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2024, 70 percent of consumers won’t purchase a product or service from a company they view as lacking security measures. In addition to quality support, good customer service is about providing a secure and trustworthy environment for customers.
Example: A financial services company that implements a secure customer service platform with robust encryption, multi-factor authentication, and compliance features to protect all customer communications and personal information.
14. Accessibility
To ensure inclusivity, customer support channels and services should be easily accessible to all customers, including those with disabilities. This means designing support systems that accommodate various needs and preferences, allowing every customer to receive assistance effectively.
Example: A company that implements a comprehensive, accessible customer support system that includes:
A screen reader-friendly website with clear navigation for visually impaired customers
Live chat support with options for larger text sizes and high-contrast modes
Multi-language support for non-native speakers
Simple language options in knowledge base articles for customers with cognitive disabilities
By offering these diverse and accessible support options, the company ensures that all customers, regardless of their abilities, can easily seek and receive the assistance they need.
15. Transparency
Customers expect clear, honest, and open communication about products, services, pricing, and company policies.
Example: A support agent provides detailed and easy-to-understand pricing updates, including a breakdown of charges.
16. Innovation
Customers are drawn to brands that offer innovative and cutting-edge products and services. This is particularly true in industries where the customer experience has traditionally been cumbersome or inconvenient. Businesses that embrace emerging technologies often have a competitive edge.
Example: A fintech company implements an AI agent capable of autonomously handling complex tasks like replacing lost or stolen bank cards without the need for any human involvement.
17. Identity
Customers often choose brands that align with their identity and values. Businesses that reflect customers’ self-image and beliefs foster a strong emotional connection. This alignment should extend to the customer support experience, ensuring that every interaction reinforces the brand’s identity and values.
This consistency helps maintain the emotional connection with customers even during problem-solving interactions.
Example: A trendy, youth-oriented tech company implements a chatbot for customer support that reflects its brand identity. It is programmed with a casual, friendly chatbot persona that uses emojis, GIFs, and pop culture references in its responses. This ensures that even automated support interactions feel on-brand.
Why are customer needs important?
In the show Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay visits struggling restaurants whose owners are often blind to their customers’ needs. It takes Ramsay’s expert eye (and colorful language) to help them see what their patrons really want.
We can’t all have a Gordon Ramsay to whip us into shape. That’s why tuning into customer needs is important—it’s the difference between a thriving establishment and one on the brink of closure.
Prioritizing customer needs leads to:
- Increased customer satisfaction: When you meet or exceed expectations, customers feel valued and appreciated.
- Boosted brand reputation: Positive word-of-mouth marketing is invaluable for building a strong brand.
- Improved customer retention: Addressing needs pre-emptively helps reduce churn and acquisition costs.
- Increased revenue and profitability: Loyal customers spend more and are more likely to recommend you to others.
- Competitive advantage: Providing superior customer experiences can set you apart.
- Valuable insights: Listening to customer feedback reveals areas for improvement and sparks innovation.
Understanding and acting on these benefits can help you create a loyal customer base and set you up for long-term success. In the next section, we’ll explore practical strategies for uncovering and addressing your customers’ most pressing needs.
How to identify customer needs
There are a few tried-and-true methods to consider when identifying the needs of your customers.
Leverage AI
With AI customer service software like Zendesk, you can automatically detect customer intent and sentiment from emails, chats, and more. This quickly surfaces key issues so you can prioritize and respond faster to improve customer experience.
AI can analyze and summarize support tickets, highlighting the main request or problem in simple terms. This helps agents understand the core need right away without reading lengthy threads.
Let AI categorize incoming tickets by topic, urgency, product area, and more. Automating this tedious process ensures nothing slips through the cracks and each request gets routed correctly.
Review your CX data
Customer engagement data reveals common issues plaguing your customers. Review chat transcripts, support tickets, and surveys to illuminate their challenges and frustrations. Look for recurring themes or common complaints that point to underlying frustrations. These are opportunities to improve.
Dig into which channels customers prefer for different situations. Do they favor live chat for quick questions but email for complex issues? Based on these insights, you can optimize your channels and resources.
Stay ahead by monitoring data for emerging customer needs or requests. Maybe there’s rising demand for a new feature or different support hours. Identifying trends early allows you to adapt before things escalate.
Speak with your customer service team
Your customer service team is on the frontlines, engaging with your customers day in and day out. They’re the ones fielding questions, addressing concerns, and getting an up-close look at your customers’ expectations. So, why not tap into that first-hand knowledge?
They can share valuable insights into what customers are asking for, what confuses them, and where the biggest areas for improvement lie. Listen closely, and you’ll start to identify patterns in the customer experience that can inform your product roadmap.
Customer service agents don’t just handle support tickets—they often act as product experts, too. They become well-versed in how customers actually use your product or service in the real world. This context is invaluable for understanding the full customer journey and experience.
Having an open line of communication with customer service shows that you value their perspective and that their feedback directly impacts the business. In turn, they’ll be more motivated to provide helpful insights. It becomes a mutually beneficial feedback loop of continuous improvement.
Ask customers what they need
The most straightforward way to identify customer needs is to simply ask them directly. You can gather customer feedback through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or casual conversations.
Surveys allow you to collect data quickly and easily from a large sample size. Use a mix of open-ended and multiple-choice questions.
Interviews provide rich, qualitative insights by diving deeper into individual perspectives and pain points.
Focus groups enable discussion and idea-sharing among small groups of customers.
Whichever method you choose, ask the right questions to uncover their challenges, frustrations, goals, and priorities.
Listen on social media
More and more businesses are seeing the importance of being present on social media for customer service. Customers want to communicate with you like they do with friends and family—and that often means social channels.
Connecting with customers on their preferred channel also helps to create a more meaningful relationship. And it’s an excellent way to hear real-time feedback from your customers about what they like (and what they don’t). If you start to see the same questions or issues pop up over time, it’s a good clue that you have customer needs to solve.
Create a customer journey map
To meet your customers’ needs, you need to understand what they’re looking for and what phase of the customer journey they’re in, from discovery to purchase. Customer journey maps create a visual representation of how your customers interact with your brand. It helps you see things from your customers’ perspectives and gain insights about potential roadblocks and how to improve the experience.
“The experience matters at every moment in the customer journey, and customers will judge any impediment along the way,” said Harry Wray, customer success executive at Zendesk. “It’s crucial to consider the experience from the customer’s perspective to understand their needs.”
How to meet customer needs
Let’s explore five key strategies to ensure your customers feel heard, valued, and satisfied.
Provide fast customer service
Customers crave instant gratification. They want answers, and they want them now. It’s no surprise that in our CX Trends Report, 51 percent of customers say they prefer interacting with bots over humans when they want immediate service.
With AI agents—advanced AI-powered chatbots—from Zendesk, you can give customers lightning-fast responses and 24/7 support. Additionally, this frees up your human agents to focus on building customer relationships and provide that personal touch when needed.
Personalize customer interactions
Have you ever experienced the joy of a stranger complimenting your outfit? It’s a small gesture, but it’s unexpected and personal and instantly brightens your day. Customers crave that same connection when interacting with your brand.
Use your data to tailor your customer interactions to each individual. This could mean addressing them by name (but don’t overdo it—unless you’re in used car sales), referencing their purchase history, or suggesting products based on their interests.
AI-powered tools can help you segment your customers based on various criteria, allowing you to create targeted communications and offers. They can also analyze customer behavior patterns to predict future needs, enabling you to provide proactive customer service.
For example, if a customer frequently purchases a certain type of product, an AI system could trigger a personalized email with maintenance tips. Or if a customer has been experiencing recurring issues, the system could flag this so that a human agent can reach out with a more comprehensive solution.
Blend AI with human expertise
While AI is incredibly powerful, it doesn’t possess the customer service skills of human agents. In our CX Trends Report, 75 percent of CX leaders see AI as a force for amplifying human intelligence, not replacing it.
AI can handle data-heavy, repetitive tasks, while customer service agents focus on building relationships, solving complex problems, and providing emotional intelligence that machines can’t replicate.
For example, an AI agent might initially handle a customer inquiry regarding fraudulent charges on their bank card. It can gather details of the disputed transactions, cross-reference them against the customer’s purchase history, and potentially identify patterns consistent with fraud. If the AI determines with a high degree of confidence that fraud has occurred, it can initiate the dispute process, temporarily freezing the card, and proactively ordering a replacement. If the situation is less clear-cut or the customer has further questions, the AI can seamlessly transfer the customer to a human agent, along with all the relevant information collected. This ensures a smooth customer experience while maximizing the efficiency of your support team.
Blending AI with human expertise allows you to meet your customer service objectives more effectively, providing fast, accurate, and empathetic support at every stage of the customer journey.
Build customer profiles
To truly meet your customers’ needs, you must understand who they are, what they want, and how they interact with your business. Building comprehensive customer profiles is key to this understanding.
Start by collecting data from various customer touchpoints, like website visits, purchase history, support interactions, social media engagements, and more. Use this data to create a 360-degree view of each customer.
For instance, a customer profile might include:
Basic demographic information (age, location, lifestyle, income)
Purchase history and preferences
Preferred communication channels
Interaction history with your company
Feedback provided in surveys or reviews
Comprehensive customer profiles allow you to tailor your interactions and offerings to each customer’s needs and preferences. For example, if a customer profile shows a preference for video tutorials, you could prioritize this format when providing support or product information to that customer.
Again, AI can be incredibly helpful here. AI-powered analytics can sift through vast amounts of data to identify patterns and insights that might not be immediately obvious to human observers. These insights can help you refine your customer profiles and tailor your customer experience strategy accordingly.
Free customer profile templates
Get to know your ideal customer base better with our customer profile templates.
Use the right software
The software you use should help you understand and anticipate customer needs, support your customer service objectives, and facilitate customer-oriented support.
For example, Degreed, an education technology platform, centers its customer needs by using customer service software that integrates with product, sales, and customer success teams.
The team manages high ticket volume by analyzing customer feedback data from Zendesk. This data allows them to proactively identify issues before they worsen, drive new feature development, reduce support volume, and improve customer satisfaction and retention.
Meet your customers’ needs with Zendesk
Understanding and anticipating your customers’ needs is no easy feat, but it’s the key to unlocking lasting loyalty and growth. By implementing a customer-first approach, prioritizing personalized, proactive support, and leveraging the right CX solution, like Zendesk, you’ll meet your customers’ needs and exceed their expectations.
Zendesk empowers you to:
Establish personalized omnichannel service
Provide quality and efficient service with AI agents and automation
Solve issues faster with AI-powered insights and guidance
Provide real time workforce management that’s fast and easy to deploy
Work smarter with powerful agent and admin tools
Offer a differentiated customer experience at scale
Deploy best-in-class service solutions quickly with low overhead
Explore how Zendesk customer service software can empower you to build lasting, meaningful relationships that transform your customer experience.
