This course covers why listening to consumer needs during product development is critical to a company’s success, and uses specific examples to illustrate the secrets of successful product development. Emphasizes the risk of failure if consumer input is not taken into account.
In our daily lives, we come into contact with countless products. They are essential tools that provide us with a comfortable life. As society changes and technology advances, people have begun to look for more convenient and efficient products. A prime example of this is the iPhone, which has become one of the most popular products in recent years. It attracts the attention of many customers with its attractive design and software that is different from other smartphones. When we look at the iPhone, we often ask ourselves, “Why can’t Korean companies make products like this?” We also think about the products we use every day, “If only they had this feature” or “If only they had this design, they would be more popular.” So why can’t companies make products that perfectly meet the needs of consumers? Contrary to what we think, it’s not as easy as it seems.
There are six main stages in the product creation process. The first is Planning, which is where we outline the design and production of the product. The second step is Concept Development, where you decide what concept you want to build your product around. The third step is called System-Level Design, where you decide at a macro level how your conceptualized product will be built and what materials will be utilized. The fourth step is Detail Design, where you finalize the design down to the smallest detail. In the fifth phase, Test & Refinement, we test and refine the product as it is built. Finally, in the sixth phase, Production Ramp-Up, the final product is inspected and launched.
Looking more closely at these stages, especially ‘Concept Development’, the process can be broken down into 10 steps. It starts with identifying customer needs, determining the target characteristics of the product, creating several concepts, selecting one, and testing it. Of these steps, “identifying customer needs” is the most important, as it can make or break a product’s sales. This is because a product that does not properly reflect customer needs is unlikely to succeed even if it is launched.
Currently, most companies use internal meetings to predict customer needs rather than listening to customers directly. While this may be an easy way to conceptualize, the results are likely to be poor. This is because when you conceptualize a product based solely on what the company thinks it should be, it’s more likely that the customer’s needs won’t be reflected in the product. In this case, consumers will be frustrated with a product that doesn’t fully meet their needs, and the company will suffer from lower sales and unhappy customers.
Companies that continue to develop products like this will eventually stagnate and likely fall behind their competitors. A prime example of this is Sony. Sony was a powerhouse in portable devices during the Walkman era, but things changed when MP3s came along. While most MP3 players supported all types of music files, Sony stuck to its own music format. Customers pointed out this inconvenience, but Sony ignored them and stuck to its guns. As a result, customers left Sony.
As you can see from the examples above, in order for a company to survive in the marketplace, they need to create product concepts that reflect consumer feedback. One company that has done this well is Matsushita in Japan. When Matsushita tried to sell dishwashers in Japan, which were used every day in the U.S., they were initially rejected by consumers. The company researched why consumers didn’t buy dishwashers and found some interesting comments: “It’s too big to fit in the kitchen,” “It uses a lot of water, which adds to the cost of living,” and “It’s not cleaner than washing dishes by hand.” Matsushita revised the product concept to reflect these comments. The size issue was addressed by conducting home surveys to find the optimal size, while the water usage issue was addressed by improving the nozzle and enhancing water-saving features so that users could actually save money on their water bills. The cleaning power issue was addressed by introducing ultrasonic technology to provide better cleaning power than washing dishes by hand. The improved dishwasher appealed to consumers, and as a result, it became a success in the Japanese market with a share of more than 60%.
There is a similar story in South Korea. Before launching a cell phone, LG Electronics wanted to get a leg up on the competition, so they formed a consumer test panel of 100 customers in their teens and 20s. Their input led them to remove unnecessary features and simplify the design, resulting in a new phone called the Chocolate Phone, which went on to sell more than 6 million units in Korea.
I had a similar experience myself. When my cousin was working for a company that published problem books for middle and high school students, I was asked for my opinion on the problem books. I suggested that the questions with the highest percentage of incorrect answers be organized and included separately, and when a new book was released, the questions with the highest percentage of incorrect answers were pulled out and included as an appendix. I had a very strange feeling when I saw the book, and I actively promoted it to my friends. As a result, the book outsold the publisher’s other books.
In this way, companies that actively reflected consumer opinions in the design of their products succeeded in the market, while those that did not did not. In the modern world, consumers can freely express their opinions through the Internet, and public opinion is easily formed. Therefore, the success of a company depends on how well it reflects consumer needs. Therefore, companies should design products that respect the communication with customers.
