Customer Experience Library - Tip #5 Listen to your customer - Then Stop Listening

Listen to your customers to define the problem – stop listening to define the solution

I can’t tell you how many meetings I've been in where I've heard one of the two refrains.

One - “If I would’ve asked my customers what they would’ve wanted, they would’ve said a faster horse.” – Henry Ford

IE customers can't image new ways to solve their problems.

Two - “Let’s start with real customer problems or pains today. We have a backlog of items real people have requested, let’s prioritize the needs of real people when we innovate.”

IE we need to listen to the customer and solve problems they know they have.

Conflicting arguments that sound extremely rational. So which is correct?

They both are.

Here’s the nuance from what I can tell.

Deep, empathetic listening to problems, pains, needs, desires is ALWAYS where to start – especially when talking about product innovation or improving the overall customer experience.

STOP listening to customers to define their solutions. This is where you add your creative magic. Usually, customer have a limited preview of their needs, wants and desires that are domain dependent within their context.

What you can provide is a macro synthesis of all needs, and solve problems that address the root of what the customer is asking for - potentially in a way that was outside their initial framework.

This makes both statements above true.

In my first example – Henry Ford was sensitive to the fact that his customers wanted faster travel to solve a transportation problem – he solved that problem with a solution previously unheard of – the horseless carriage.

In the second example – starting with customer feature requests is a great start, but pausing to understand why they are asking for that feature, might lead you to design a product or experience that address the underlying motivation for the request.

Regardless, the process is the same: “Start listening to your customers to fully understand their problems – Stop listening to your customers to determine the solution.

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