Innovation is an interesting concept in business. Every company is continually innovating to remain competitive, whether through designing new internal processes or creating new products and services. While innovation remains a key component of growth, most people, including myself, find it difficult to pinpoint those consumer needs that should be fulfilled.

I recently read an article titled, “Spark Innovation Through Empathic Design” in which the authors, Dorothy Leonard and Jeffrey F. Rayport, discuss the importance of observing customers when innovating a new product or service. According to the article, the problem with listening to customers through traditional approaches, such as surveys and focus groups, is that customers don’t know what they want. Therefore, they don’t know how to improve what they currently have. Consumers are so used to current conditions that they don’t think to ask for new solutions.

This is where observation comes into play. Observing customers in the act of using your product or service before conducting quantitative research can provide an in-depth view of their thought processes and can unearth needs they didn’t know they had. 

So the next time you’re launching an exciting new product line or improving upon an existing product or service, try observing your customers before having them fill out a survey.

Have you ever used observation techniques? Did it help you discover ways to improve your product or service?