We can be blindsided about how we seek product feedback. The first blind spot, as we saw, is being unaware of our underlying assumptions. This was described in the examples of Febreze and the tetanus shots. Even when focusing on the right business outcomes and customer value, and having done the necessary market analysis alongside having the technology viability, our core assumptions about how customers will perceive our product can be flawed.
The second blind spot is that of seeking feedback only from the customers that contribute to our success. Focusing only on what works well without trying to explore why our product doesn’t work well for other target segments or certain cohorts within our target segments, can lead to biased insights. Both these blind spots require that we get out of the building, talk to our customers, and resist ideating only based on our existing biases and mental models.
Product feedback is sometimes less about what is being said and more about...