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Customer Needs Matrix: The Baseline To Your Brief

Written by: Adrienne Kmetz Tags: content, template

Published: Jan 2, 2026  |  Last Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Forget personas. Have you ever completed a full customer needs matrix? Well it's a great day to try something new. 

When readers land on your website, they will rarely all be in exactly the same buying stage, knowledge stage, or emotional state. When we write articles that target specific topics, it's possible to narrow down who might be coming to learn about this particular topic and why, so we can meet their emotional motivations behind the search. 

Without this context, it leads us to make some of these alienating mistakes: 

• We mix up empathy with pity. A popular crutch is to start every intro with hard topics being "hard" or "confusing" and lighthearted topics being "exciting." Instead of trying to label their emotion, start with a true statement that recognizes the thread that connects all readers. Try:
  • A high interest rate on a cash back card can be tempting, but caps and rotating categories can make it harder to maximize your rewards.
• We try to label the audience instead of identifying with them. "Whether you're this or that, this topic could be for you" is a crutch phrase that alienates the reader. Instead, lean on that thread again: 
  • Car insurance is a requirement for all drivers, which is why we all want the cheapest price – until we actually need the coverage. 
• We forget what they already know, and what they don't know yet. Don't re-cap definitions of common terms that someone would have to know to lead them to this topic.
  • For instance, a second-home buyer doesn't need to know the basics of how interest rates work, becuase they've alraedy gone through the process once. Highlight what's different about the 2nd purchase from a 1st. 
• We are coming from a place of knowledge and they are in a place of vulnerability. This simple subconscious bias sometimes leads us to use jargon or unecessary words when we can use simpler ones. 
  • Reframe building back your credit as "becoming a person that makes good credit decisions," because this is a skill you'll bring with you your whole life. Generally, a few strong first steps can help you grow your credit to as much as 60 points or more in six months.
• We get the sentiment wrong. Buying a house is as exciting as it is confusing. Buying a second house is a sign of financial stability and probably part of an investment portfolio.  Know when your intro requires sensitivity, tact, humor, transparency, or just the facts. 

To meet readers where they are, use a customer needs matrix

A customer needs matrix or user state matrix asks a series of questions about the customer's problem, emotional state, goals, and constraints; in order to understand what information to provide that helps them navigate through each phase of the buying journey (awareness, consideration, comparison, buy, retention). 

The goal of this exercise is to give you the tools to speak to your reader in a way that brings them confidence in their information to take the next step. Copywriting and UX adjustments can improve conversion rates by taking a piece that was just fine, and turning it into one that generates trust and loyalty. 

Example of user needs matrix

This example from Natasha Post uses a Figjam board template with stickies and emojis: 

Across the top of the matrix, you'll see our common customer stages:

• Awareness. Reader is aware they have a problem, but may not know what exactly the problem is, and they do not know their range of options for how to solve it.
  • Content types: What does X mean, definition pages, question topics, video, social, news, what to do if, what is my problem and what does it mean
• Consideration. Reader understands the problem and range of solutions available to them but are not sure which type or approach is best.
  • Solution vs solution, is solution right for me, best way to / how to solve problem, problem or product + reddit
• Comparison. Now that the reader knows what product to get, they are ready to compare options, prices, and brands.
  • Brand vs brand, product vs product, best lists, ranked lists
• Buy/apply. A solution is made which generally ends in one last search of reviews of that product just to make sure they're making the right choice; and coupons of that product to make sure they're getting the best deal.
  • Content types: Reviews, how to apply, how to follow up on your application, coupon codes, listing pages, sales pages
• Retention. Now a customer, the reader must know what comes next in terms of activation, making use of the product, and the impact that their choice will have on that aspect of their life in the foreseeable future.
  • These are typically articles like "what happens when my balance transfer period ends?" or "Wrapped: Your year in review"

Along the side, key questions you need to answer for every part of the matrix:

• Starting point
• Problem they are facing
• Thoughts or questions they have
• Emotions they are feeling
• Actions we want them to take
• Their desired resolution

Now answer each question as briefly as you can and fill out the entire matrix. By the end, you'll have the scaffolding for an entire content hub. A few pieces of content that hits each column, and now you actually have each stage of the funnel represented.

Without knowing if you have content from each stage, you might have a big gap that readers will need to go elsewhere to fill. 

It's just as much about figuring out what to leave out, as it is where to start 

Often, we write briefs in a doc from a worksheet, and it can sometimes take us out of the context of the reader on the page. A user matrix helps us remember that our reader is likely already along their journey somewhere, and we are using context clues about the topic and our audience to speak to them directly without accidental condescenscion.

Get the user needs template: 

Grab the Google sheet template for our cheap and cheerful version, or you can make your own Miro or Figjam board using Natasha's example.