Why does she need you?
Originally written in Chinese. Translated with AI, reviewed by Gary. Read the Chinese original →
I've come across a lot of projects recently.
Some foreign, some local. Everyone starts by talking about how great their product is, how good their brand is, how cheap their price is, and how big they could become.
Those things matter, of course.
But by the end of the conversation, I find the most serious problem is that many people have never seriously thought about who their customer is.
They are very good at talking about the product, and rarely talk about the user.
They say: "My brand is great."
They say: "My price is very low."
They say: "My product is very competitive."
But customers don't buy because you think you are good.
Customers buy because at a certain moment they had a need, and you spoke to it.
Why does she need you?
In what situation would she use you?
What is stopping her from buying right now?
After she buys, what problem does she want solved, and how does she want to feel?
If these questions aren't thought through, everything you do later on channels, content, live streams and creators will be an uphill battle.
Besides being a service provider, I also own a brand myself, so I know this isn't theory.
Many products aren't bad. The packaging is decent and the price is reasonable, yet the market simply doesn't respond. Usually the reason isn't that the product isn't good enough. It's that it never truly entered the customer's life.
The market is far too crowded now.
There are so many products, so many choices, so much content. Customers have no time to listen to you explain how great you are.
She only cares about one thing:
What does this have to do with me?
So building a brand today isn't about constantly proving you are good. It's about proving you understand the customer.
You understand why she buys.
You understand why she hesitates.
You understand where her money goes.
You understand what she really wants to solve.
Product, price and brand all matter.
But if they don't connect to a real need, it is easy to end up moved only by yourself.
In the past, having stock, a channel and a price might have been enough to get a chance.
Not any more.
The skill that really matters today is recognising demand.
Don't look at the market from the product's side. Look at the product from the customer's side.
When you start from the product, you keep asking:
How do I sell this?
When you start from the customer, you begin to ask:
Why does she need me?
Those two questions lead to completely different businesses.