On Listening to Customers…
Ken Norton shares some sound advice on how best to listen to and work with a mix of customers to help with the product development process. A brief excerpt:
So how do you hone in on what users really
need? You talk to people who represent a heterogeneous
cross-section of your target population, consider their built-in biases
and perspectives and triangulate from there. In my experience,
I’ve found it helpful to talk to users who represent the leading,
middle and trailing adoption populations in my market as well as
influential observers.
It’s interesting to look at Norton’s post from a marketing
perspective. Personally, I think there tends to be too much emphasis
on the two categories Norton identifies as influential observers and
leading adopters, and certainly not enough on the middle and late
adopters. Why? Because for marketers, the head’s sexier
than the tail (more here
and wow, that last sentence is just rife with innuendo). Anyway,
long story short: You can’t expect to create buzz, build
enthusiasm and drive interest in a product with the middle and late
adopters. But, to Norton’s point, you can’t expect to create a great
product without them. The best companies and the best products
are those that can balance the needs and desires of a broader customer
cross section.
