Emily Suzuki
Elevate your design and manufacturing processes with Autodesk Fusion
See how customer insights during smart product development can lead to better products and a better customer experience.
“Smart” products have been gaining popularity in recent years, and for good reason. These products, which are connected to the internet and can be controlled and monitored through an app or website, offer a level of convenience and customization that traditional products simply can’t match.
But for companies that design and manufacture these smart products, there’s more to the equation than just creating a new and exciting product. They also need to understand what their target audience wants and needs in order to create a product that will truly resonate with them. As smart products become the norm in the marketplace, there’s a greater opportunity for collecting and harnessing customer insights than ever before.
The power of customer insights
One way to gain a deeper understanding of a target audience is through customer insights. Customer insights are a powerful tool for companies looking to create products and services that truly meet the needs of their target audience.
By analyzing data about their customers’ preferences, habits, and needs, companies can create products that are tailored to their audience’s specific wants and needs. Generally, they can gather this data from a variety of sources, including research, social media, eCommerce data, and user account data. User account data is particularly valuable, as it comes from the customers themselves, and it can provide a wealth of information about their preferences, habits, and needs.
Here are three of the biggest benefits of customer insights:
1. Identify new opportunities
One of the biggest benefits of customer insights is that they can help companies identify new opportunities for growth and innovation. By understanding their customers’ pain points and desires, companies can identify areas where they can improve their products or services or even create entirely new product categories.
2. Make data-driven decisions
Another important benefit of customer insights is that they can help companies make data-driven decisions. By analyzing customer data, companies can gain a better understanding of what’s working and what is not, and they can make informed decisions about where to allocate resources. This can lead to more efficient and effective product development, as well as more targeted marketing and sales efforts.
3. Improve customer experience
Finally, it’s important to note that customer insights can help companies improve the customer experience. By understanding how customers interact with their products and services, companies can identify areas where they can make the experience more seamless, intuitive, or personalized. This can lead to greater customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.
Agile software development: incorporating key customer insights
Gathering customer insights through user account data is a process that has been used in agile software development for some time.
Agile software development is a method of product development that prioritizes flexibility and rapid iteration. It involves working in short sprints, where new features or changes are developed and tested in a matter of weeks or even days. This approach allows teams to quickly pivot and adapt to changing customer needs or market conditions.
As more physical products become connected to the internet, this process is now trending in the world of consumer product design. However, it’s important to note that this agile software-inspired philosophy is not a magic solution for creating successful products. It’s also important for companies to have a clear strategy for analyzing data and an understanding of what types of data are necessary for product development.
Learn more about agile product development for consumer products here.
Product development that puts the customer first
As smart products become more popular, there’s a greater opportunity than ever to collect and analyze customer insights. Customer insight-based product design has the potential to redefine the future of product development. Along with tools like Autodesk Fusion 360, the future of product development can be easier, more effective, and more successful than ever before.