Empathy = Innovation
By: A Staff Writer
Updated on: Aug 30, 2024
Empathy = Innovation
Stuck in a creative rut? Step outside yourself and look at your business through your customer’s eyes.
We optimize for what WE like, even if the market isn’t into it. Ego gets in the way!
- Customer interviews are key: Don’t assume you know their experience, ask open-ended questions.
- Complaint mining: Negative feedback is a roadmap for innovation if you set your defensiveness aside.
- Track their journey: Are there pain points in your onboarding, purchasing, etc., that an empathetic look reveals?
- Be where they are: Lurk in forums, Facebook groups, etc. to see the unfiltered conversations about your niche.
- Cross-industry inspiration: What problems do businesses in other fields solve elegantly that you can adapt?
- ‘Beginner’s mind’ as practice: Look at your business like you’re a customer seeing it for the first time.
What’s one thing your customers find frustrating that you always thought was just the way it had to be?
Review your website/marketing materials. Is the customer the hero of the story, or are you?