When LEGO was developing a castle play set they brought fans of all ages together to get feedback.
The adults loved it.
“But where’s the dragon?” the children asked.
The adults explained that there were no dragons in Medieval times.
“Where’s the fun in that?” the kids replied.
So, the dragon was born.

What we think our customers want isn’t always accurate and what they say they want isn’t always the whole truth. This is why you can’t rely on hunches or even on focus groups alone. You need to find ways to empathise with your customers and to truly understand the problem you are solving for them.

10 ways to stand in your customer’s shoes

1. Spend time where your customers are, both online and offline.

2. Watch what they do.

3. Listen to what they say.

4. Look for patterns in their day to day.

5. Think about their problems, the tiniest gap in their desires and how you might fill and fulfil those.

6. Consider how they actually feel in the situation where you want to create difference for them.

7. Work out how they want to feel and deliver on that.

8. Identify their wants, both physical and emotional.

9. Question how you can get them from where they are to where they want to be.

10.Think about the change that takes place in their lives because your product or service exists.
Now go tell them that story.

Image by Andrew Scott.