What a customer need is: the four the specification names

1. Edexcel names four customer needs, and nearly every buying decision comes down to how one shopper weighs them against each other.
   1. Price: the money handed over, judged against what the product delivers, so the need is value for money rather than the lowest figure on the shelf.
   2. Quality: the product works, lasts as long as the buyer expected and is the same every time, so a Greggs sausage roll bought in Leeds matches one bought in Cardiff.
   3. Choice: the range of versions on offer, such as sizes, flavours and ways of paying, so the Greggs vegan sausage roll lets a customer who avoids meat buy at the same counter as everyone else.
   4. Convenience: how little time and effort the purchase costs, so a PureGym site open 24 hours with no staffed reception lets a night-shift worker train at 4am.
2. Quality is judged against the price paid rather than against the best product on the market, so a £4 umbrella that survives one winter satisfies its buyer while £90 boots that split after six months do not.

How a business meets each need, and what it gives up to do it

1. A need only turns into a sale when the business changes something it does, and each need points at a different action.
   1. Meeting price: cut the cost of supplying the product first, which is why Aldi and Lidl stock a narrower range, order far more of each item and sell own-brand goods instead of advertised brands.
   2. Meeting quality: better materials, trained staff and checks before the product reaches the customer, as Dyson did by building over 5,000 prototypes before its bagless vacuum cleaner went on sale.
   3. Meeting choice: extra sizes, flavours and price levels plus more ways to buy, so Tesco and Sainsbury's carry a wider range than the discounters and offer click and collect.
   4. Meeting convenience: shops sited where people already are, longer opening hours and delivery, which is what a Deliveroo customer pays a fee for rather than collecting the meal themselves.
2. Every one of those actions costs money, so a business that leads on one need is normally weaker on another.
   1. Price against quality: heavier materials and extra checking raise the cost of each unit, so Dr Martens charges a premium for boots built to last years rather than one winter.
   2. Price against choice: stocking more lines means ordering less of each, so bulk discounts fall away and shelf prices drift up, which is the gap between Tesco's range and Aldi's prices.

Why the same product suits one customer and not another

1. Every buyer wants all four needs met, so what separates customers is the order they put them in.
   1. A commuter buying lunch at 8am ranks convenience first and pays 60p more at a station kiosk to avoid a ten-minute queue.
   2. A parent doing a weekly shop for a family of five ranks price, then choice, because one trip has to feed everybody.
   3. A customer with a nut allergy ranks choice first, because a shop with no safe option is no use at any price.
2. The same person reorders the needs from one purchase to the next, buying own-brand pasta to save 40p and still paying a premium for an Innocent smoothie.
3. A business therefore aims at the customers whose ranking matches what it does best, which is how Aldi and Tesco both survive selling groceries in the same town.