Are you aware of these? What do they tell you?
1. If your idea is going to work.
Nobody knows for sure, not even the people you think are the perfect customer with the exact problem you want to solve.
2. How to beat the competition.
Asking customers for a breakdown of a rival’s flaws might be a guide to gaps in service, but it doesn’t guarantee that they will switch to you if you get those things right.
3. If something really is better.
An expensive lesson Coca Cola learned when they introduced New Coke on the back of results from the Pepsi Challenge.
A sip was not the same as drinking a whole can of cola.
4. How people feel.
Asking people for rational explanations for choices which are influenced by cultural factors and based on instinct, isn’t the best business development strategy.
5. What the future will look like (but maybe they can show you what it won’t look like).
Steve Jobs and Henry Ford famously expressed the same sentiment—people don’t know what they want until they see it. You can learn a lot about what could change by watching what they do.
6. What people will do.
People will tell you that they will try your service, buy your product or refer business and on and on. The only proof you have is when they do.
The best way to understand your customers is to get amongst them (online or offline) and to see how they experience the world. Questions always lead to answers, but that doesn’t mean they are the right ones.