Henry Ford has been quoted as saying “If I had asked what people wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

While it’s uncertain if he actually ever said this, it’s a common theme in innovation discussions. What are our customers really after? How can you know, especially when they might not be able to articulate the full range of their motivations? The trick is to use every available resource to uncover THEIR journey by putting yourself in their shoes. If you’re designing products and services, and the process by which you deliver value, on your intuition alone – you’re in trouble.

You don’t want to miss:

• You can’t be all things to all people – choose your ideal customer.

• Your customers’ motivations have many components – functional, social and/or emotional. You can’t create a real value proposition until you really understand what they are after – and WHY.

• Once you’ve truly put yourself in your customers’ shoes – prioritise their needs and choose which ones you can really address well.

Tune in next week for our discussion about how to design and test your value proposition.

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