Customer is King, but what if I told you they DON’T really know what they want?

“If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” – Henry Ford

Imagine, how different the world would have been if people like Henry Ford did not do any innovation?

What if Steve Jobs did not innovate to combine a phone, an iPod, and an internet communicator into the first iPhone, which revolutionized the mobile phones industry?

If Uber and Airbnb did not innovate to disrupt the transportation and tourism industry, what would day-to-day and vacation travel be like today?

You see, sometimes, if you just ask your customers what they want, yes you might provide answers to their short-term goals, but the truth is, the concept of “customer is King” may be a flawed mentality.

They may not know what they really want, until you actually create their ideal future state. It’s all a matter of perspective. Instead of focusing on their problem, focus on the solution.

For example, in the case of Henry Ford, he says that if he asked his customers what they wanted, they would have simply said that they wanted faster horses. It’s all surface level.

But if you focus on the solution, and base it on their paint points e.g. the quickest, easiest, and most efficient way to get from Point A to Point B, then you’d end up with a different solution. In Henry Ford’s case – revolutionizing the definition of transportation.

In order to find out what your customers really want, there are 3 layers you need to penetrate in your customers’ minds:

1. What they SAY
2. What they THINK
3. What they DO

Until finally, you’ll get to the downright truth – their HOPES, FEELINGS, DREAMS, and ASIPRATIONS. That is what they really want.

The question is HOW do you get through those layers? It’s called Design Thinking. And the good thing is that you don’t have to be a designer in order to think like one. There’s a science behind it, and it’s a skill that you can learn.

If you think this was of value and want to know more, Learn Design Thinking today, and transform your business to take it to the next level.

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