Advanced Techniques

The techniques below characterize three ways to involve customers in the process of identifying unmet market needs (primarily for new product development or enhancing the customer experience) through advanced qualitative techniques:

Voice of the Customer (Griffin and Hauser, 1991), a process for identifying primary and secondary customer needs as input to Quality Function Deployment (QFD):

• Interview-based approach, relies on gathering opinions from consumers about their problems and needs
• Characterized by collaboration between marketing and engineering in collecting and analyzing data
• Needs divided into three categories: Primary, secondary and tertiary

Empathic Design (Leonard and Rayport, Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 1997.) :

• Observation-based research, viewing the user doing activities in his or her own environment without interfering
• Trained observers can recognize needs that consumers themselves may not be aware of
• Not a substitute for traditional research, but can be superior at revealing unarticulated needs

• Collaboration-based research, relies on working with innovative individuals to generate insights about problems and solutions
•  The premise is that users who identify problems in advance of the broader market are good sources of needed new products
• Lead users must also have a significant economic stake in having the problems solved or need met

These advanced qualitative techniques support idea generation in the new product development process and to enhance the customer experience.