Silence the Voice of the Customer
Greg White
Market-focused Full Life Cycle Product Management Director | Founder & President of OC Product Managers
It’s time we moved past responding to what customers ask for. To deliver true solutions to a market, you need to solve real problems. Whether it’s enabling a customer to do something they’ve heretofore been unable to do, enabling something to be done more efficiently or enabling cost savings, you’re trying to solve a problem your customer has.
Now, I’m not advocating ignoring all customer input, going into your ivory tower and ideating on the next great thing. Nor am I saying to ignore customer suggestions and requests. However, without a good understanding of your customers’ business and relevant day-to-day practices, you’re essentially guessing at what the best solution for them is, even if they’ve directly requested it. You need to understand what they’re trying to do in order to deliver transformative value.
Customers buy products and services to help them do something. Both companies and individuals have “jobs” that they’re trying to get done, whether it’s processing a mortgage application or watching a movie. Their value of a product is measured on how well the product helps them to do their “job” better. This value is not usually articulated when customers request features, at least not directly. You have to read between the lines and ask more probing questions to get at the real need and value.
A clear understanding of these value measurements enable companies to better innovate market-focused solutions, identify market segments that present the best opportunities for growth, conduct competitive analysis, communicate value to customers and measure customer satisfaction.
Moving toward a benefits-driven approach to innovation lets companies focus on meeting the most important under-addressed needs. This practice reduces failure and increases a company’s return on targeted investments.
Join me tomorrow night (May 13) at Orange County Product Managers in Irvine, CA where I will moderate a panel of experts on needs-driven innovation. We’ll discuss how you can better focus your investment and solve real market problems. Learn more and register at www.ocproductmanagers.org.
Product Management | Program Management | Operations Executive
9 年Nice post Greg White. I found myself delivering the same message just yesterday at a client site (i.e. focus on understanding and solving the root problem) accompanied by the Henry Ford line: If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said "faster horses".
VP Payer Strategy | DSO Executive Leadership | Customer Success | Client Relationship Management | Revenue Cycle | Payer Relations
9 年I agree wholeheartedly, Greg White. A business can't be all things to all people, and placing too much emphasis on customer input can lead a company astray. Customers want proactive solutions that aniticpate their needs, and the only way to do that is to have an in depth knowledge of your customer's businesses, AND a firm understanding of what you can deliver.