Today consumers are a lot more savvy than they used to be. They’re much less likely to just take your word for something than they used to. They will look around before deciding to buy from any one person. They are not loyal to products or brands, but they are loyal to people. In other words, you’re going to have to be very customer centric to make it in today’s marketing world.

There are five things that your customer wants from you that you can deliver if you keep them in mind.

Empathy

Due to the economic climate today, consumers want businesses to empathize with them about these hard times. They want you to truly understand them, and to feel as if you have put yourself in their shoes. If you can show your customers that you really get them, they’re going to be much more likely to buy from you. By demonstrating your ability to walk in their shoes, the customer will truly feel as if they belong in your audience.

Solutions

It’s been said before but here it is again: Customers want solutions to their problems. If you can provide solutions for your target audience as well as explain the solutions that you provide to your customers in a way that they truly understand, you’ll be golden to your audience. Your audience cares about how the products and services you offer meet their needs, not how they line your pockets. They want to know about the benefits of a product, not the features of a product.

Collaboration

Due to the power social media and the internet imparts on customers today, it’s important that you learn to collaborate with your customers using these mediums. By collaborating with your customers you will never run out of product ideas. If your customer feels as if he or she had some say in the products you are producing, they’ll be that much more likely to purchase. They will feel as if they were part of the process. Ask your customers what products they want and what you should name them. Use polls to get your answers and to build excitement about the newest product offering.

Confidence

This word means a lot more than you think at first glance. Your consumers want to have confidence in your ability to deliver the solutions you have promised, but they also want to be confident that if they don’t understand or can’t use it that you’ll be there to hear their problems and provide alternative solutions. They want the confidence that if they open their wallet and hand over money to you, you won’t take advantage of them.

Service

Finally, all customers want to receive the highest level of top-notch customer care that you can provide. They don’t want to talk to machines, and they don’t want to have to jump through hoops to contact you. If you make it easy for your customers to get the service they desire, they’ll become repeat customers and your biggest source of referrals.