Customer research is challenging for product teams because it can be difficult to ask customers what they want.
Sometimes people have an excellent idea about what they want but don't know how to communicate it.
In other cases, they may not know what they want until they experience it.
In recent times, understanding customer problems has become even more challenging.
Today customers often don't want the same thing as the old standardized products and services.
They have a voice, and they want solutions and experiences that meet their needs and specifications.
They want something tailored to them as individuals with the things they need, but they also need it at a reasonable cost, sometimes as a free trial or as a freemium offering.
Many companies are struggling and are looking back on how they used to do things before things changed, but this is simply not going to be enough anymore.
Let's take a look at four typical problems that may occur while conducting customer research.:
1. ★The Customer Doesn't Recognize the Question's Intent★
We've all experienced this situation!
The customer says, "I'm not sure what you're asking" or "What about this? I didn't know that was a question."
It's important to ask open-ended questions so that customers can answer in their own words.
If they don't understand the question, it will be impossible for them to answer it correctly.
2. ★Asking The Wrong Questions★
Imagine trying to find out how much people spend on groceries or food items in a month. In this case, you should probably not ask when they last shopped at the grocery or food store.
You could ask them when they usually go grocery or food shopping each month or what items they find themselves buying most frequently. Is this seasonal? If yes, what matters to them?
3. ★Customers Don't Want To Answer the Question★
If you ask customers why they don't want to answer, more than likely, you'll get a good reason - even if it's something as simple as 'I'm unsure.'
You can either drop specific questions or find ways to make people feel more comfortable answering them (for example, give them an 'anonymous' option).
4. ★Customers Don't Know the Answer★
If you need accurate numbers, this is a tricky problem!
You can ask if they could take a guess, or you can conduct a range of answers.
For example, "I'm thinking about all the times you bought groceries or food items to put in your refrigerator in the past three months. What do you think is a good estimate?".
Asking for a guess or asking about a range will get you closer to an accurate number even if they don't know the perfect answer.
★Businesses and teams should continue to improve their customer research processes in order to meet the demands of the market.★
#productdiscovery #researchinsights #customerinsights
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