7 Rules for Improving Innovation: #7 Customer Input
November 8, 2010 Leave a Comment
Customer Input.
To fuel the innovation engine, companies need to pay extremely close attention to their customers and form strategies based around everything they can possibly learn.
To accomplish this, most organizations spend a chunk on R&D, market research, focus groups and feedback programs, simply to gather insight and suggestions for “potential” innovations.
To survive and remain competitive, regardless of your industry, your company needs to be the first to market with new offerings. That means understanding what your customers are like. Naturally, customers’ needs and wants are ever-changing, but you need to do everything possible and know as much as you can about your users. Earmark the time, money, and people to find out how customers interact with every aspect of your product, service, company, delivery, support, and so on.
And ask their opinions. It sounds rudimentary, but so many companies fail to do it, and make the information they find out actionable. This devotion to the “voice of the customer” could set you apart and become the gamechanger for your business.
