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An exercise we don’t do often enough (especially if you sell a service rather than a product) is taking a look at how our customers actually use what we sell them.
When you make the time (not take…make) to actually dig into the functionality, the how and where they use it, and what they have to do to it to make it more practical/useful, etc. you learn some very interesting things and it’s a great way to innovate an existing product.
How do you suppose Puffs came up with the tissue box that fits into your car’s cup holder?
Hi Drew,
Great point, and a good product to illustrate this too. My new car center holder space is too narrow to fit a standard small Kleenex box. Wandering the aisles of Target the other day, I noticed that Kleenex makes (driver-friendly) “auto” packs — which I did think was brilliant. And immediately snatched up a pair.
It’s a great reminder that it’s not about what you sell, it’s about how the customer responds to and uses it.
Daria,
As we both have talked about on our blogs before — it’s a matter of how you view your product — from your own view or through the lens of the customer. What I loved about this new packaging is that it is a great reminder that an old dog or mature product can indeed learn new tricks!
Drew
Very informative Drew but also very expensive I would assume?
It’d be very interesting to see how many companies actually look at this metric when trying to improving their products?
Actual usage of a product is a key stage in the consumer-brand experience. If a person buys a product and doesn’t use it, why would they buy it again?
Keep an eye on customers’ future potential as well. It may be worth nurturing a relationship with a small customer with high growth potential. Working with your customers can also help you identify ways to develop new and improved products.