1. Study the consumer. Be an anthropologist or a detective: observe, ask questions, take notes, examine the context. Listen carefully to their unarticulated needs. What is missing from their lives? What are their needs?
2. Look for trends. Find and scrutinize edgy websites. Visit trendy spots like Paris, Barcelona, Soho, or Shanghai. Read magazines outside of your field. Read science and futurism magazines. Listen to people who are on the cutting edge (see podcast from the Ted Conference, for instance).
3. Think about cup holders and Onstar. Industries are flooded with competitors satisfying basic needs. Customers are looking for extras—what cup holders and Onstar-like services do your customers need. [This is first instance of Onstar—it should be explained.]
4. Talk to your suppliers. They know what your competitors are doing. Probe them. Your competitors might know things about your customers that you do not.
5. Watch your competitors’ market moves. Burger King allegedly watches where MacDonald’s puts a new restaurant and then locates a store down the block.
6. Watch for attitudinal shifts in your customers. Different generations have different attitudes toward life, work, technologies and recreation. Follow those trends or you might lose your customer base.
7. Listen to customer feedback, particularly negative feedback. Customers who take time to complain care enough to help you become better.
8. Hire customers to be in your ideation sessions. They can give insight that even your best people cannot give.
Closeness to Consumers
Evaluate your organization by rating each question from 1 (Hardly ever) to 5 (Almost always). Calculate the average of your answers and rate your score:
1-2.5: Pathetic and Distant
2.5-4: Getting Closer
4-5: Cozy and Tight
• We regularly ask for customer feedback and use that feedback.
• We bring our customers into our innovation process.
• Our market researchers continually study our customers.
• All of our personnel have been trained in customer service techniques.
• Our customers can communicate with us in a variety of ways.
• Our management regularly listens to customer panels.
• Our salespeople are constantly on the lookout for consumer trends.
How do you rate?