I went for a walk in the park today and noticed that most of the people who were walking their dogs were using ball throwers. We had a dog for many years and in all that time I threw balls and sticks for it and was never aware of any need for a ball thrower. I guess that if you had asked 1000 dog owners what problems or needs they had in relation to their dog they would have come up with a 100 things before anyone thought of a ball thrower. Yet now every other dog owner has one. When anyone can throw a ball why does everyone need one? Well they do offer some benefits. They allow you to pick up the ball without getting your hand dirty. You can flick the ball further than with an overarm throw. And many women seem to find throwing a little challenging so they are convenient. This inexpensive product is exploiting a need that most customers did not know they had. The same goes for many other products and services.
How can you anticipate needs that customer surveys cannot reveal? The best ways are by watching users and seeing what they do and what problems or difficulties they encounter. How can you make every stage of the process easier for them? Whether it is walking a dog or outsourcing the building of a nuclear power station there are always ways to make things easier. In 10 years time we will all be using goods and services that no-one has thought of yet. Just like the ball thrower for dog walkers.
Paul Sloane
Tags: anticipate, ball, customer, dog, Innovation, needs, thrower, walker
Very insightful and true. I never would have decided I needed a ball thrower, either. Granted, I don’t have a dog… but there is a friendly one across the street who insists we play with her.
A while back, I read on grokdotcom about the #1 complaint about digital cameras, and how most people won’t guess it on the first try. Then, when they’re told it’s the response time between clicking the button and the camera actually taking a picture, everyone slaps their head and says “of course!” (My post about it is at: http://tinyurl.com/6aw3a9)
Looks like we end-users really have no idea what we want! Which is why I really love it when companies solve problems I didn’t even know I had.
(And btw, I’ve got a great throwing arm from years of softball. My ability to consistently hit the target, on the other hand…)
Henry Ford once famously said, “if all I did was listen to customers, I would have put a motor on a horse!” (that’s a paraphrase, btw.)
I do think, however, that there are many “innovations for inarticulated customer needs” on late-night TV shows that never go anywhere. So it’s not just about being better in a sort of factual sense, it has to connect with an emotional or visceral need, else “the old way was good enough” reigns. In the case of ball throwers, for me, it’s mostly the incredibly positive reinforcement I get from a dog! In this case the need is really “new ways to play with dog,” not so much “a way to overcome biomechanic limits on my ability to throw the ball far enough, repetitively.” Secondarily, it’s avoiding touching the ball covered with dog slobber, which is more visceral.
Related to this is products that are made for one purpose and then end up being used for other purposes that the company didn’t anticipate. Viagra is the famous example; or picnic coolers for transporting organs; years ago, Microsoft was surprised to learn how many people used spreadsheets just for lists and didn’t use the calculating capabilities at all. These kinds of learnings can re-direct entire marketing plans.