There’s nothing quite as rich as the use of consumer feedback throughout a product’s lifecycle, and the small effort exerted by simply listening can yield invaluable results over the long-term. In his Unconventional Genius podcast, Max Borges talks with leaders of tech companies about the value of consumer insights. Some of the key takeaways include the following:
Collect Concept Feedback Prior to Launch
CEO of Indiegogo, David Mandelbrot, comments on the importance of early customer feedback and how crowdfunding offers a platform for such: “At this point [post-campaign], the entrepreneur has already established direct contact with the future customers of the product, which means the entrepreneur has the ability to start doing research with those users before they actually launch and before they’ve locked in on exactly what that first version will be.” He goes on to add, “That’s the kind of market research that’s very, very hard to do. It’s hard to get the right participants for that kind of research.”
Identify Emotional Triggers
Simon Sollberger, CEO of Ultimate Ears, believes it’s important to spend time with consumers and see what they care about, as identifying emotional triggers can assist in product or service development based upon core customer considerations.
Gather Customer Insight for Ongoing Product Development
Jason Fass, former CEO, Zepp Labs, comments on how consumer insight offers ongoing opportunities for improvement and iteration: “Oftentimes companies start to collect market feedback, and if you’re listening, you can help evolve your product and keep delivering on that x-factor.”
From start to end, and everywhere in between, market research efforts are helping to propel entrepreneurs into the new and constantly evolving consumer-centric market, where the better you know your users, the more likely you are to succeed.
Listen to the “Unconventional Genius” podcast on iTunes or Soundcloud to learn more!
