Uncovering Latent Needs
Hamel and Prahalahad and others have pointed out the need for companies to uncover unarticulated customer needs. These needs may be called latent, tacit, sticky, contextual, or simply unarticulated needs. They may not be articulated because the client doesn’t know how to communicate them or has trouble knowing what an “outsider” needs to know.
Hence the importance of site visits, as advocated by McQuarrie or by Griffin in Voice of the Customer and the use of anthropological research methods at P&G under AG Lafley, replacing idea-killing focus groups. Real understanding is needed to uncover key needs.
In your organization there is a group of professions who frequently do site visits and know your products and services and how customer use them. They are boundary spanners “immersed” in the behavior of your customers. Do you make use of your in-house anthropologists when you consider product and service innovation?
Once again: listen to the sales force!
For more on listening to the force: http://sellingb2bservice.com/2009/09/06/listen-to-your-salespeople/
For more on idea-killing focus groups: http://servicecocreation.com/2009/07/23/brainstorming-groups-still-kill-ideas/
