The power of instinct in
customer experience

Almost every major company now conducts sophisticated customer research and analysis. And with good reason: it’s imperative that we all have in-depth knowledge of our customers in order to provide the right product or service to meet their needs.

The irony is that by relying too much on this kind of approach, we can actually distance ourselves from customers. So much traditional research relies on the use of surveys, interviews and focus groups rather than real-life observation. These methods collect rational views about what customers think, and sometimes how they feel, about their experience. But customers are rarely able to articulate creative ideas for making the experience better.

In our own work with successful business leaders, we consistently find that most of the new and innovative business ideas come from entrepreneurs who operate more from their own observations and insights rather than analytical research; they are so tuned in to observing, engaging and empathising with their customers, that they instinctively know what would turn an average experience into a great experience.

Successful entrepreneurs watch and empathise with customers in shops, on planes, on the streets, even in their homes and ask “why are people behaving in the way they do and what can we do to make their experience better. The techniques have produced the Walkman and the I-pod, it has led to drive-through check-ins and low cost flights, it has affected the way that Heinz market Ketchup and the way NASA teach their astronauts safety.

In our book See Feel Think Do, we’ve outlined a simple process to help executives harness the power of their instinct.

Back to articles