Always be learning

Best innovation teams I worked with interacted with their customers on a daily basis. Yes, daily basis! They did so through many different channels: phone calls, emails, instant messaging, chat, social media, meetings, ticketing software, so on and so forth.

They aspired to maximise the learning from each interaction by always asking at least one "why" or "how" question. This then fed into their ideation process, allowing them to come up with relevant and valuable ideas with little effort.

Further, they were able to come up with solid assumptions from customers' perspective, which in turn enabled them to rapidly formulate and conduct experiments.

In essence, they pay attention to everything the customer tells and does in all their interactions with them.

Not there yet?

Well, then I have great news for you.

Starting with the above requires no investment beyond practice and discipline. Focus on your existing customer interactions. Begin paying attention to what they tell and show you. And then work your way from there.

You will soon discover that customers are willing to share much more when they feel you are genuinely interested in them.