{"id":14047,"date":"2018-06-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/post\/innovation-opportunities-start-with-customer-needs_boston\/"},"modified":"2022-08-02T20:24:01","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T00:24:01","slug":"innovation-opportunities-start-with-customer-needs_boston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/blog\/innovation-opportunities-start-with-customer-needs_boston\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the Connection Between the Customer and Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"
Steve Jobs was onto something when he said: \u201cYou\u2019ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology \u2013 not the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a recognized innovative leader, Jobs saw the link between customer experience and innovation. He knew that customer experience compliments innovation. You need to commit to understanding the first one to have the other.<\/p>\n
You know how I know? Not just because Steve Jobs called it. But because over the past six years I\u2019ve committed my time and energy to contribute to the advancement of that concept at Centric Consulting. Those efforts led to expanded responsibilities, leading our Innovation Advisory team and innovation efforts across the company.<\/p>\n
Now I\u2019d like to help you make the connection between the customer and innovation – and share some tips you can follow at your company.<\/p>\n
Still not convinced about the connection? I don\u2019t blame you. I\u2019ll build a more compelling case, throwing one caveat out there \u2013 this won\u2019t apply to 100 percent of companies or customer relationships, but it will make sense for a majority<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Customers demand solutions, even if they don\u2019t know it. They want easy-to-work-with<\/i> offerings that solve their day-to-day challenges. This applies to the consumer market, where most of the Customer Experience<\/a> (CXD) discipline is focused, but it also focuses in the business-to-business market.<\/p>\n So, innovation – the introduction of new methods, products, and ideas – must consider the customer. It\u2019s critical to not only consider known customer needs, but also their unspoken<\/i> needs and experiences.<\/strong><\/p>\n Often times, customers may not know what they want. What they need may not even be in focus for them. Think back to what Henry Ford said, \u201cIf I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.\u201d<\/p>\n My point is that you need to listen to your customers to serve them, by applying the CX discipline, and<\/u> you also need to go beyond feedback and apply observational analysis, creativity, and insight to drive innovation.<\/p>\n Since they\u2019re critical to not only your present but also your future, customers deserve an outsized allocation of attention when considering the inputs and variables that drive your firm\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n In our client work, we\u2019ve seen companies shift their mindset from customer strategy centered on increasing wallet share to that of bringing value to the customer, not only with products but across the entire relationship. Looking beyond the transaction is a start that allows a firm to consider innovation opportunities to pursue.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a chart, created for our own innovation pursuits, which plots the magnitude of the stakeholder – the size of the bubble – against its importance to the firm – the x-y axis. This is an example of how we consider the customer in service to our strategic objectives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n