There are many different ways to collect feedback about your product or service. The best method for you really depends upon what you intend to do with the feedback. You need to be aware of what you can act on, and strive to meet that end (action). If you are just about to start with collecting consumer feedback below are some helpful tips to know before you get started.

Tip 1: Your product can’t be all things to all people.

“At one point you have to make a decision. Look at the example of Apple: they were first with not having a removable battery - this was a new idea, that had its challenges because people were not accustomed to it. Apple made a choice, and they succeeded with it…- Marco.

Tip 2: Trying to design based on surveys, big market studies and focus groups can often lead to mediocrity.

Mark fill in why.

Tip 3: You need to understand and appreciate all of the stakeholders involved in your business and how they may affect the overall success of your service or product.

For example, if you have a locker service that is intended for urban music venues, the venue is your “customer” and the concert goers are your “consumers”. In order to maintain a successful business, you need to understand the needs of the venue itself, and maintain a good relationship with the venue management, as well as understand music goers who will use your lockers. In this case, the venue itself can and will have a significant impact on how your consumers perceive and experience your product/service. What does the venue need, want, influence? How can they affect your product offering and brand? And how/why will your product benefit them?

Tip 4: Do research to inform your decisions - but not to make them.

Research is a loaded term. There are so many ways to go about it. Making an informed decision is the goal. And that decision is about taking action. So when you plan your research, be sure to understand and align an approach that is appropriate to the decision you are looking to inform.

Tip 5: Don’t ask, observe!
Marco: “It’s important that you don’t just ask people (whether customer or consumer) to tell you what they need; you need to observe them. One of my favorite quotes on this is by Henry Ford: ’If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”