5 business insights for companies wanting to truly understand their market

1. Perception is reality. If your customers think your competitor has a better product  or service than you, they do. It doesn’t matter if your product is technologically superior, is made of more durable materials, etc.

2. Don’t work within a vacuum. Always be scanning trends in technology and consumer behavior, both within your industry and outside it. Keeping an eye on what’s happening and what’s coming will help you to lead innovation within your industry, and at the very least ensure your not blind-sided by your competition.

3. You need to walk in the shoes of your customer. You need to spend time with your customer, truly understanding who they are, what they do, what motivates them, and what inspires them. This will help you to better target your development and positioning efforts. It will also mitigate some of the risk taken on by your organization in the development and implementation processes of new products and services.

4. You need to accept the fact that you are not your customer and that most likely assumptions you make about who your customer is will be flawed in some manner.

5. Don’t forget about your potential customers. New revenue sources for your company can be found by investing in people that you don’t currently serve.

Categories: Innovation, Market research, Strategy