A lot of entrepreneurs say they know exactly what their clients want. The problem is that most of them “think” they know what their client wants.

Unfortunately, chances are they lack the art of actually “listening” and “watching” so what they believe they know – are mainly assumptions.

Clients can be fantastic. When you find the right one, you can create this amazing symbiotic relationship where the two of you feed off each other and create beautiful things together. And then there are ones that could be amazing to work with, but you just can’t figure out exactly what they want.

Wouldn’t life be much simpler if you knew EXACTLY what products or services your prospects really WANT?

While there is no magical marketing crystal ball, there are definitely some strategies you can use to get a good idea of what your target market is looking for.

Here are 10 ways you can find out what your prospects REALLY want to buy:

1. Survey Them

You can use a service like Survey Monkey or Google Forms; However, you can make it seem more personal and less automated. Send them an email from an actual human being, not the company right after they’ve purchased or signed up for your service. Ask them to reply with a simple answer to 1-3 simple questions (some examples below).

2. NPS Them

Find out how your clients like your product/service/company via a Net Promoter Score survey. It works by asking them 1 question: “On a scale of 0-10 how likely are you to recommend our product/service/company to a friend. The process includes a second follow up question that depends on their answer to the first question. You can learn all about NPS here.

3. Interview Them

Get prospects or existing clients face to face (Zoom is fine) and start by asking your interviewees to describe solutions or products they wish they had. Ask them for details: How would that product benefit them? What would it look like? Why would they use it? Only at the end, talk about your solution and ask for an honest opinion.

4. Watch Them

Take time to observe your clients, their reactions to your offers, products, presentations and prices. Track their flow through your store or website. Identify any hotspots, bottlenecks and areas that get least attention.

5. Listen to Forums and Social Media Conversation

By hanging out in niche or industry forums and social media groups, you get to be a ‘fly on the wall’ to find out what your target market really wants. Read through posts and ask yourself the questions: Do you see any common themes? What frustrations or issues come up frequently? How can you meet these needs or help to solve these problems?

6. Analyze Their Frequently Asked Questions

Chances are you already have a FAQ page on your website. If not, run through your emails to see what questions your prospects or clients are frequently asking. Do you see any common themes or threads? Are there needs that aren’t currently addressed in the marketplace? Can you offer a product or service that would address these problems or meet these needs?

7. Brainstorm With Them
Bring a few of your clients and/or prospects together (online or offline), ask them to put their creative hat on, and suspend their judgment and critique. Ask them a question and give them the space to answer, listen to others, get inspired and come up with even more ideas.

8. Find Out Their Goals
Here are a few questions that would reveal their goals and aspirations: “What are you looking to accomplish?” “If you had a magic wand and could change anything about (your product or service category), what would it be?”  What Would You View as a Success?

9. Find Out Their Challenges
Sometimes asking your prospects or clients for what they want doesn’t give you a clear picture (as often they don’t know what they want). However, they will be able to tell you what their biggest issue, problem or pain point is…

10. Find Out Their Frustrations

Even when they don’t know what they want – your prospects and clients do know what they hate, and that’s where you can ask follow up questions (like: “What don’t you like about that?” “Why does it bother you so much?” “How would you like it to be differently?”)

Now It’s YOUR Turn

For five minutes… come up with as many ideas as you can… how could YOU find out what THEY want?