How to meet the unrecognized needs of your customers

Meeting your customers' unrecognized needs drives positive word of mouth for your brand.

(here's last week's email on this topic, in case you missed it)

To meet your customer's unrecognized needs, you need to know what business you're in.

Management consultant Peter Drucker would ask executives: "What business are you in?"

For example:

• Starbucks isn't in the business of selling coffee. They're in the customer service business (according to its CEO Howard Shultz).

• Apple isn't in the business of selling phones. They're in the coolness business.

• At my last company, Scorpion, we sold websites and lead generation to attorneys. We were in the trusted advisor business. Our attorney clients hired us so they could focus on what they do best, argue and win cases.

I encourage you to explore the question for your business: "What business are we in?"

Once you know the answer, then deliver that value to your customers.

Because the more you can deliver value at the level of meeting customers' unrecognized needs, the more loyalty and word of mouth you'll enjoy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does knowing "what business you're in" matter more than describing your literal product or service?

Because the literal product often isn't what actually drives loyalty. Starbucks isn't really in the coffee business, they're in the customer service business, according to CEO Howard Schultz, a distinction that shapes everything they do.

What business is Apple actually in, beyond selling phones?

The coolness business, according to this framing. That deeper identity shapes far more of Apple's decisions than simply describing them as a phone manufacturer would suggest.

What business was Scorpion actually in, beyond selling websites and lead generation to attorneys?

The trusted advisor business. Attorney clients hired Scorpion so they could focus on what they do best, arguing and winning cases, not just to receive a website or leads.

Why does answering "what business are we in" help meet customers' unrecognized needs?

Because it reframes the value being delivered beyond the literal transaction, revealing the deeper need actually being fulfilled, the one customers may not even consciously articulate themselves.

What's the actual payoff of consistently delivering value at this deeper level?

More loyalty and word of mouth. Meeting unrecognized needs, not just the surface-level product request, is what builds the kind of connection that drives customers to genuinely advocate for a business.