I love my records and still play them.  They still work fine and sound much better than MP3 files.

But markets change.  Technologies change.  Economies change.  What works now likely will not work later and the rate of change today is maddening.

The customer discovery process never ends.  It’s the only way to stay on top of what is changing.  The next thing may not be as good as the last but it doesn’t matter if people stop buying the best in favor of the hip or more convenient.

Talk to your customers every week.  Plug that learning into your plans for what’s next.

Dan Wieden was a panelist at the 2013 SSTI Conference

• Customer Discovery