In the world of design (e.g., service design, product design), one key step that is constantly preached as critical is research. This is where the designer learns about needs. What’s right? What’s wrong? What works and what doesn’t? Where are the bottlenecks? What will make life better?

To do it, they watch people use the services/products. They interview people. They ask questions. They listen …with eyes and ears. It’s like a trip on safari to the savannah or outback to see wildlife in natural surroundings.

Could your business benefit? These three businesses have. 

A baby food manufacturer sent employees to spend time with moms and dads. They watched how the product was used and learned about issues. From a simple customer comment about the shape of the jar making it difficult to get all the food out came a redesign resulting in higher customer satisfaction and a competitive difference. 

A manufacturer of machines used to create highly specialized parts had employees visit with operators to learn directly from the source. After seeing that many of these operators often made little “homegrown” adjustments to the machines to make their jobs easier, the manufacturer added those modifications to newer product models.

Finally, a company that makes eye solutions for contact lens wearers invited users to their facility to talk about their experience with the product. When they got complaints from a few people about scratchy eyes, they developed a solution for sensitive customers that spawned a whole new line of products. 

Product improvement and innovation, are just two positive outcomes from going on safari to watch and listen to customers. And it’s not limited to products, improvements can happen anywhere. Service experience, processes, websites, you name it. Listening to and observing customers in the wild has superpower potential …but only if you are willing to learn hard truths and make change. 

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