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What is common between Nokia, Kodak, and Revlon?
Nokia dominated the mobile industry, Kodak led the camera and film market, and Revlon excelled in cosmetics, each being a market leader in their prime.
All three were once iconic brands, but their unexpected downfall was something no one could have predicted or imagined.
I had a very personal experience. I was looking at becoming a dealer for a storage battery company. I was told that the investment would be very high as they control about 93% of the market share. They also mentioned that I don’t need to take any action to sell the batteries, as they sell themselves automatically.
I decided against it due to the high investment required. Today, their market share stands at around 60%, and it has been steadily declining
What is the reason for this?
They struggled to adapt to evolving consumer business demands and failed to pay close attention to their customers. As a result, they were overtaken by emerging brands that were innovating quickly.
According to a Mckinsey report, 84% of business leaders agree that innovation is critical to their growth. Most leaders have challenges in innovating with questions like:
- How can I rapidly launch products?
- How can I gain the leadership position in products I am good at?
- How can I diversify more?
- How can I expand to other geographies?
Many times, you’re unaware of the challenges ahead because you’re not fully attuned to your customers’ needs.
The essential step is to actively seek feedback and truly listen to your customers. Before diving into that, let’s first reflect on the reasons behind the development of your product and build from there.
Why do you build your product?
The primary motivation behind creating your product was recognizing a need that it can address.. Alternately, you found some existing gaps in the incumbent products, and you look at addressing those gaps.
Even better, you build a product to address a latent need that people today don’t even know exists.
Here are three primary reasons for developing a product: Ultimately, you need paying customers to ensure your business’s sustainability.
You would also seek insights from your likely users to validate all your assumptions and hypotheses. Once you have a clear understanding of everything, you can begin developing your product.
Then you run your product through your beta users, seek their feedback, and fix them.
How do you seek feedback from your beta users?
This is a very critical aspect of your product development. Even after your product becomes successful, you should continue seeking feedback from your customers to ensure that it aligns with their needs.
Here are a few basic questions to get you get started:
- What do you like in your product?
This is the USP of your product, and you will have to keep growing it
- What do you not like about the product?
This is the reason why your product is not performing well. It has to be fixed before your product goes mainstream
- What is it that you miss the most?
This is as relevant as optimizing what your beta customers don’t like. This is what is going to keep you relevant in the market. Identify all that is missing, prioritize them, and get them to be a part of your product.
- How much would you lose if we didn’t launch this product?
This question addresses the crucial issue of your presence in the market and your ability to compete for your customers’ attention. It can also reveal insights about your competitors and the alternative products your customers might consider. - Would you recommend this to your friends and family?
This question assesses whether your beta customers feel confident enough to act as advocates for your product. Their endorsement is the most powerful marketing you can have.
This process of collecting feedback will have to be ongoing, and you should collect them at all touch points. After all, no organization can ignore innovation, and the best way to innovate is to provide what your customers want.
At ClearTouch, we understand the value of customer feedback in product innovation. Our platform provides a seamless communication with customers, enabling you to incorporate valuable insights and feedback on the customer journey. With our advanced cloud contact center solution customers can actively engage & stay ahead of market changes
The optimal way to understand customer needs is by asking the right questions at the right time of engagement. Without this insight, even the largest brands risk becoming obsolete.