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Kristin Gongora

Don't Just Ask for Customer Feedback, Observe to Gain Customer Insight

By Kristin Gongora


A graphic of a team of business professionals sitting at a table analyzing customer insight data.

Why Customer Insight is Important

In today's highly competitive marketplace, understanding your customer is not just a necessity; it's the cornerstone of innovation and growth. By gaining insight into customer needs, preferences, and behavior, businesses can develop products that truly resonate. At Insight2Innovate, we believe that customer insight isn't just about asking questions; it's about observation and deep understanding.


Types of Customer Insight: A Quick Review

Understanding customer insight is a multifaceted process that involves various approaches, each with its own considerations.

A matrix showing examples, pros and cons of the different combinations of primary, secondary, quantitative and qualitative insights.
Insight2Innovate Customer Insight Matrix

Quantitative Insights: These insights are collected through numerical data, surveys, and statistical analysis. Considerations include:

  • Sample size: The validity of quantitative insights often hinges on the sample size. Larger samples provide more accurate results but can be more costly.

  • Cost: The methods used can be expensive, depending on the complexity and reach.

  • Ability to Analyze Results: Specialized statistical skills are required to derive meaningful insights.


Qualitative Insights: This approach provides a deeper understanding through interviews, focus groups, and observational sessions.

  • Time-Consuming: While rich in detail, qualitative methods can be time-intensive.

  • Recruitment Challenges: Finding suitable participants who accurately represent your customer base can be a daunting task. Participants must be willing to provide thoughtful input, and capturing their perspectives accurately can be complex.

Primary Insights: Tailored to your specific needs, primary insights provide fresh, firsthand information directly from your customers. However, they come with considerations:

  • Cost: Primary research can be more expensive due to the resources needed for data collection.

  • Time: It takes longer to design, implement, and analyze a primary research study.

  • Expertise: Conducting primary research requires specialized skills for study design, unbiased data collection, and result analysis.


Secondary Insights: Utilizing existing research, these insights offer valuable context and broad trends, but considerations include:

  • Relevance: The data may not align perfectly with your specific needs as they were collected for different objectives.

  • Currency: The information may be outdated, especially in fast-paced industries.

  • Quality: It can be challenging to assess the research quality as you weren't involved in the data collection.

Bias in Customer Insights

Both quantitative and qualitative insights are subject to unintentional bias, which can result in skewed findings. Here's why:

  • Survey Bias: The way questions are framed can lead respondents to particular answers.

  • Group Dynamics: In a focus group setting, group dynamics might cause some participants to hold back or be influenced by others.

  • Interview Bias: The interviewer's actions, intentionally or not, may lead the interviewee to specific responses.

  • Interpretation Subjectivity: Qualitative research involves interpretation, which can introduce subjectivity. Findings from interviews or focus group discussions might be analyzed differently by different researchers. It requires skilled analysts to minimize bias and ensure accurate conclusions.

These biases underscore the need for careful design and execution, ideally overseen by specialists in the field to ensure the most accurate and unbiased insights.


Observing to Innovate

Merely asking customers what they want may only scratch the surface. Observation provides insight into unspoken needs, hidden problems, and areas where customers have simply accepted "that's the way it is." By addressing these assumptions, businesses can identify revolutionary solutions that customers may not even know they need. Akin to observation is leveraging value stream mapping principles to create a customer focused event to outline and measure the impact of customer pain points.


The Need for Specialized Customer Insight Teams

Whether internal or an outside consultant like Insight2Innovate, having dedicated professionals conduct customer insight research is paramount. These experts come without preconceived industry notions and challenge assumptions, sparking innovation where others might see stagnation.


Leadership Support: A Pillar of Success

Without leadership backing, customer insight initiatives may falter. Leaders must provide access, support, and encouragement to insight specialists, championing innovation over mere incremental improvement.


Conclusion

The journey to product development and innovation begins with understanding your customers in a way that goes beyond the surface. From employing the right types of insights to embracing the power of observation and having the right team and leadership support, customer insight is a multidimensional process.


Ready to tap into the full potential of customer insights? Contact Insight2Innovate today, and let's explore how we can transform your business insights into actionable innovation.


 

About the Author

Kristin Gongora, the founder of Insight2Innovate, a consulting firm helping small to mid-size businesses bring their strategic vision to life.

A strategic planning, marketing and business development professional with nearly 20 years of experience, Kristin Gongora works directly with CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs to provide a fresh perspective and turn their strategic vision into action. She specializes in partnering with small to mid-size innovative companies to focus and refine efforts to deliver in-demand customer solutions. Contact Insight2Innovate today to start your journey.

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