Are you listening? Consumers sometimes do know what they want.
Steve Jobs is famous for saying, “…People don't know what they want until you show it to them….”
True, consumers aren’t always good at predicting or envisioning the future or innovative solutions to problems known or unknown. Consumers wouldn’t have envisioned the iPhone in its iteration, for example, or Airbnb, or Uber. But it’s not as if these concepts were completely new (respectively, personal digital assistants and a portable phone, traditional bed and breakfasts and home exchange, taxis and personal car services).
But the adage shouldn’t suggest that consumers never know what they want.
You can just as often hear from innovators or entrepreneurs that they grew a business or had a breakthrough offering because they listened to their consumers and gave them what they wanted:
Glossier is a highly successful beauty brand fueled by its community; providing product ideas and insights is just one way Glossier-lovers guide and build the brand.
Starbucks has maintained relevance and built a loyal following by leveraging its “My Starbucks Idea” concept, crowdsourcing ideas from around the world. (To be sure, this isn’t the only thing Starbucks has done right to maintain relevance, but it helps!)
Nivea used social listening to identify a consumer need for deodorant that didn’t leave stains on clothes, leading to a highly successful new product launch for the company.
Yael Aflalo, founder of Reformation, in her discussion with Business of Fashion says she stays on top of trends and paying attention to what her consumers want now, a must for her sustainable, fast fashion brand.
Consumers may not identify a breakthrough, disruptive innovation, but they might.
And, they can guide you on what they’d want from your brand next and where they give you permission to stretch. So, don’t read Steve Jobs quote and think that ideas can never come from your consumers or that there’s no need to listen to them. Quite the contrary. You have to pay attention, listen, and most importantly act.
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