Should you listen to the customers?

While I was cleaning my room, I have realized that I bought Harvard Business Review a month ago.
Today, I found one of the interesting article about marketing research.

"Should you listen to the customers?"

 

 

There is a story about the business in art. The person A claims the importance of listening to the customers as one of the research. The person B disagree with this idea, because he tries to maintan creativity, which is beyond the customers' expectations.

 

At the last page, one of the professional commented that

 

"ANY INNOVATIVE company struggles with how much to listen ot customers." with the quotation of Heny Ford, which is the customer would say that the one needs fast horse...

 

 

 

 

 

Don't ask the customers what they want to see...

 

In the summary part, it is said that not to ask what they want to "see", but to ask what motivate them "emotional"

 

According to the Cotler, it seems like "customers' needs, want"

 

I believe that people want something to solve their certain problems, this is called needs.

What the needs are formalized is the product or service.

 

 

I interpreted the theory above in this way,

"ask customer's problem, but not the image of its form."

 

So that marketers can drive their Creativity to formalize the needs.

 

 

 

*most of the information here is from Harvard Business Review sep. 2012