
This can be when there’s aNew domain (a new market/customer group sharing a common problem or need that needs to be addressed) With empathy at the core, a product can be designed well for an organization as well as customers.When to do it:Exploratory customer research is done at the very beginning, before the product life cycle is kicked off. Exploratory researchWith varying customer needs that evolve with each passing day, oftentimes product teams can end up with unique problems - as well as the demand to understand the problem first to decide on the best approach with which to move forward.Such situations require a very quick response and a clear segregation of what is known and what still needs to be learned.Why do it:Exploratory customer research helps product teams be aware and mindful of the challenges that a particular industry faces.Learning from both successful and failed launches can be identified early via exploratory research, which helps build empathy with clients and customers alike. In this article, we aim to understand how a customer-focused product development approach can be integrated at each stage of the cycle, what customer data analytics need to be tracked, and what research techniques can be adopted to gather these customer insights.What is Customer-Focused Product Development?In the product life cycle, there’s a common perception that as soon as a product is launched, the product development cycle is concluded.But the lifecycle of product development doesn’t culminate with the release.Instead, there's a lot of work that needs to be conducted in the way of customer journey research to ensure that a customer-focused strategy is truly implemented in the process.What Factors are Important in Customer-focused Product Development?“Research is creating new knowledge.” - Neil ArmstrongCustomer wants and needs are prone to constantly changing as the market gains maturity.A great product is one that continues to evolve as it matures with the customer at the center.To implement a customer-focused product development approach, the co-existence of product delivery and customer research is vital - something that should be leveraged not just during but also after the shipment of the product or feature.Designing for the Right Reasons with Customer ResearchDuring a flight, before the plane takes off, an airline assistant always demonstrates the security protocols, even though every passenger receives a separate leaflet with the same details.This is a classic example of how observing an aware frequent flyer using the safety jacket reveals undocumented context.The same concept applies in product development that uses customer journey research to follow a truly customer-focused strategy.How Many Types of Consumer Research Are There?There are four different types of research that can be leveraged in the product development cycle.Each type of customer research comes with its own set of distinct benefits at specific stages of the cycle:1. Broadly, the product development cycle constitutes 5 major stages:Ideation Concurrently, 89% of customers switch to a rival business as a result of a poor experience with a brand.But how do enterprises account for the customer experience in the product development cycle?Before we dive into that, it’s important to know what stages constitute the entire Product Development Cycle.What are the Stages of the Product Development Cycle?From ideation to commercialization, the product development cycle goes through multiple stages as the product matures. An enhanced customer experience has a proven potential of a 200% increase in conversion rate for the business. And they would be right.Experience has always been the key differentiator in identifying the right market leader in any industry. Across any industry in today’s digital age, what is the single most important differentiator that sets apart market leaders from other businesses?Many will answer that with “customer experience”.
