The true value of understanding customers

A company introduces a drug to the market. Side-effect of the said drug is tricking the brain to feel full, leading to weight loss. They stumble upon a novel way to compete in a market worth approximately €150 billion. Competitors now see the opportunity too, and they flock to it.

Customers rapidly adopt the drug and similar solutions. Their eating habits change. Their buying habits change. As their habits change, they shift from one market segment to another.

Observant companies, those paying attention to their customers, notice the signal and focus their innovation efforts on new food and beverage products that meet the customer where they are going. They invest tens of millions in order to be ready to compete in a market worth €800 billion.

We don't know the final outcome just yet. But I can guarantee you that companies that have already recognised the signal and are consciously doing something about it will fare much better than the blissfully ignorant ones.

That's why it is important to understand the customers' entire context, and not "just" their needs and how they satisfy them. By doing so we will have a chance to connect the dots before others do—and therein lie some of the greatest opportunities.