Henry Ford, the pioneer of auto industry once said- “ If I asked people for what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”.

Apple’s Cofounder Steve Jobs said in an interview said

“ It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them? “

Do Customers really know what they want?

I would argue and like a typical consultant answer “It depends”

Why No?

Customers do not know what they want and you have to show it to them. I agree with Henry Ford and Steve Jobs, who were great inventors of their generation

BUT only when you come up with innovative product that disrupts an existing market or creates a new market.

For example Iphone was a game changer and customers loved the touch screen experience that they had not seen before.

Apple disrupted the mobile device market and forced the market leader Nokia to sell its mobile devices business.

Why Yes?

Customers know what they want once your product matures and there is entry of competitors in the market. You need to listen to the voice of the customer in order to make incremental product improvements.

Steve Jobs believed that the Iphone should be of a certain size and for a long time Apple did not come out with phones with bigger screen sizes.

Competitors like Samsung did their market research that customers wanted bigger sized screen phones and started gaining market share.

Finally Apple under the leadership of Tim Cook, made the decision to offer different screen sizes for Iphones. Source- Business Insider Sep 2014

The Statista graphic link below tells us the story. It shows the market share of the smartphone vendors based on number of shipments. I

n Q4 of 2009, Samsung had market share of 3.3%, Apple had a share of 16.1% and Nokia had a share of 38.6% in the smart phone market.

As of Q1 of 2016, Samsung has a market share of 24.5%, Apple has the share of 15.3% and Nokia has moved to the ‘Others’ category. I would like to also add that market share does not mean higher profitability.

Screen Shot 2016-08-09 at 3.08.48 PM

http://www.statista.com/statistics/271496/global-market-share-held-by-smartphone-vendors-since-4th-quarter-2009/

In conclusion, customer’s opinions are very valuable for existing products and new product releases. Customers might not explicitly tell you what they want but you need to ask appropriate questions and listen to the customers to improve your product functionality.

  1. BrettCrich

    October 14, 2025

    buy prednisolone: buy corticosteroids without prescription UK - MedRelief UK

  2. Jamesgaw

    October 14, 2025

    UK online antibiotic service: cheap amoxicillin - generic Amoxicillin pharmacy UK

  3. BrettCrich

    October 13, 2025

    UK online pharmacy without prescription: online pharmacy - online pharmacy

  4. binance

    October 13, 2025

    Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.

  5. Jamesgaw

    October 13, 2025

    buy sildenafil tablets UK: viagra - buy viagra online

  6. HerbertDaf

    October 13, 2025

    http://britpharmonline.com/# BritPharm Online

  7. BrettCrich

    October 13, 2025

    buy prednisolone: UK chemist Prednisolone delivery - buy corticosteroids without prescription UK

  8. Jamesgaw

    October 13, 2025

    buy viagra: viagra uk - buy viagra online

  9. Jamesgaw

    October 13, 2025

    generic Amoxicillin pharmacy UK: generic Amoxicillin pharmacy UK - amoxicillin uk

  10. BrettCrich

    October 13, 2025

    pharmacy online UK: UK online pharmacy without prescription - order medication online legally in the UK

  11. HerbertDaf

    October 13, 2025

    https://amoxicareonline.shop/# buy amoxicillin

  12. Jamesgaw

    October 12, 2025

    buy amoxicillin: UK online antibiotic service - amoxicillin uk

  13. RaymondBeith

    October 12, 2025

    http://amoxicareonline.com/# cheap amoxicillin

  14. BrettCrich

    October 12, 2025

    cheap prednisolone in UK: order steroid medication safely online - best UK online chemist for Prednisolone

  15. JamesEsock

    October 12, 2025

    online pharmacy private online pharmacy UK Brit Meds Direct

  16. Jamesgaw

    October 12, 2025

    Brit Meds Direct: order medication online legally in the UK - online pharmacy

  17. RaymondBeith

    October 12, 2025

    http://britpharmonline.com/# buy viagra online

  18. BrettCrich

    October 12, 2025

    viagra uk: Viagra online UK - buy viagra

  19. JamesEsock

    October 12, 2025

    order medication online legally in the UK private online pharmacy UK order medication online legally in the UK

  20. HerbertDaf

    October 12, 2025

    https://britpharmonline.com/# buy viagra

Comments are closed.

Related Posts