While customers are critical to learn from

While customers are critical to learn from, prospects may be even more valuable. In many cases, customers keep doing what they've always done, and are poor predictors of new technologies or other marketplace shifts. But prospects are not already infatuated with you or your current products, Nike Shox TL3 and will communicate more realistic views of the changing marketplace. So listen to prospects as well as customers.

Information to Gather

What information needs to be gathered to obtain clear customer insight?

*Working environment* Ask, "What is the environment that our customers are working in?" "Who is using the product vs. who is the buyer?" Understanding the environment may provide clues as to how your products are used and how their use could be improved, there by increasing the value to customers. You need to know how customers are or would be using your product or service.

Ideally, you should go directly to your customer site and watch the product or service being used. In this way, you can Nike Cortez Shoes, gather information that may not be evident as someone describes their environment and can't be uncovered using surveys or other impersonal means.

*New opportunities* The greatest value in gathering firsthand customer insight may be the ability to uncover new opportunities, either for new applications of existing products or for new products. During direct customer interviews, you can uncover latent needs that customers may not even know they have. Frequently, your company will be uniquely capable of addressing these needs.