TRUE Discovery Leads to True Innovation
All of the data in the world can’t replace interacting directly with customers. Companies continue to develop process-oriented and data-oriented approaches to determine a user journey, rather than directly discussing the wants and needs with the customer themselves. Data backed decisions work in some instances, but it is often better to arm your team with direct feedback from customers.
Although his unconventional and eccentric (if not erratic) approach often lands him in hot water, Elon Musk cares about what his customers want, and innovates accordingly. Competitors in the electric vehicle space have products that are considered superior to Tesla from an engineering standpoint. But why is Tesla still the market leader? Sure, they were one of the first to market and Musk’s Tony Stark-esque persona is appealing, but he also knows how to connect with customers to drive engineering decisions. Oftentimes, Musk uses the power of social media to interact directly with customers. People will tweet him suggestions for making the car better, and he will respond and implement those changes. For example:
Tesla has also innovated the buyer journey. Everyone dreads having to go to a car dealership and deal with pushy salesmen. A car is a big purchase, one you should be excited about, and Tesla created a buyer journey that bring the excitement back to the process. Their pricing is straightforward. Their sales process is straight forward — go online (they have been eliminating their showrooms over the years), select your model and features, and pick it up, no more negotiating with unclear sales prices. They crushed the inundated car sales model by creating a process that is attractive to people today. They don’t need to be pushy, actually they don’t WANT to be pushy. They aren’t advertising. They want customers who seek them out, ones who are technically savvy and will enjoy their no-BS approach. Fast and simple decisions made online and you have your new car, one designed just for you.
And while other companies continue to try to play catchup to Tesla, Musk is on to his next great innovation in the space, transportation as a service — self driving cars, that will further disrupt the market and answer customers direct needs further: giving them more free time in a day.
Musk has consistently pushed to develop products that respond to customer needs, and he has discovered customer needs by directly interfacing with customers rather than trying to analyze data sets in an attempt to infer customer needs. Product Management organizations would do well to take note of this philosophy and tactic.
