Product In Search of a Customer

Cross over to the customer’s side of the aisle

He loved his new product.

It was his brainchild.

His team, eight dedicated guys, shared his enthusiasm.

But when they launched the product, it failed epically.

He was devastated.

He told me he talked to potential customers many times while developing the strategy and product.

He listened to them and took their opinions into account.

But it didn’t help.

The fandom for his product consisted of nine people: him and his team.

“What did I do wrong?” he asked.

The founders and employees see their product from ‘the other side of the counter.’

And when they ask customers questions, they often hear what they want.

I advised him to observe customer behavior instead of asking for their opinion.

We should step on the other side of the counter.

We need to observe how customers live and work.

Less questioning, more observing.

Ingvar Kamprad (IKEA) noticed a client attempting to fit a chair into a vehicle trunk and decided to offer dismantled furniture.

Read also: Sixteen Basic Human Needs And Business Strategy.

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