Over the past two decades, many books and untold numbers of journal and magazine articles have been written about the importance of listening to customers.  Becoming more customer-focused is now a critical strategic objective for many businesses, and listening to “the voice of the customer” is often seen as the path to success.  Companies in a wide range of industries have invested millions in customer relationship management programs and technologies to learn more about their customers, and many firms regularly spend huge sums on market research to better understand customer wants and needs.

Despite all of the recent emphasis on the importance of listening to customers, and despite the huge investments made in obtaining customer input, most companies still struggle with developing new products and services that resonate with customers.

Companies seek input from customers in order to create and offer products and services that customers will buy.  Yet despite all of the recent emphasis on the importance of listening to customers, and despite the huge investments made in obtaining customer input, most companies still struggle with developing new products and services that resonate with customers.  Numerous research studies have shown that only a small percentage of new products or services achieve real economic success in the marketplace.  For every iPod, there are eight or ten Segways (the motorized “scooter” that was supposed to revolutionize how people moved around cities).  If businesses are really focusing on finding out what customers want, then why is the failure rate of new products and services so high?