The Things Users Won't Tell You

Let's cut right to the chase - companies want to know what you want to buy. They really, really want to know. They email you surveys, they print feedback sweepstakes on your receipts, and they pay market researchers a LOTTA money to tell them what you want. And you tell them! You're genuinely thrilled to let them know what you're thinking! You want them to know what you want to buy too!

So what's the problem with all of that? Why does it seem so hard to find exactly what you want on the shelf? Because, honestly, you can't tell them what you want. And they're pretty silly to keep asking! For the average user the majority of any experience doesn't register in the conscious mind. The subconscious processes much of what we see, hear, touch and smell - and only the highlights are big enough to catch our full attention.
What companies could really use is insight into unarticulated needs. These are the things you won't tell them, but you'll recognize instantly when your attention is drawn to it. Take the photo above for example. When surveyed, the owner of this refrigerator was asked "can you store wine in your refrigerator" and responded "yes" with no qualifications. Upon direct observation of the user's fridge, it was obvious that wine bottle storage was not being adequately addressed.

The user isn't going to tell you what they need, but it's right there waiting to be observed through ethnographic documentation. Traditionally, ethnography demands a rigorous period of immersion into a culture for observation. The same principles can be applied to observation research on a smaller scale. Forget the focus groups. Forget the surveys. Take the plunge and get right inside the user's world - the answers are there waiting for you.

Orville's New Bag Needs No Bowl

The Orville Redenbacher's Pop Up Bowl is pretty neato. Click through to watch the video - unfortunately they don't have one available to embed. The bag unfolds and expands similarly to other popcorn bags. Once it pops up, you tear off one edge and end up with a bowl-like package suitable for snacking. Beats coating your knuckles with shiny goodness when reaching deep into the greasy salty sides of a regular bag for the last kernels...

Who Needs a Burger Press?

Grilling season is upon us, and I've been meaning to look into burger presses. Not necessarily because I want one, but because I've been wondering who does? I'm more the type to be lulled into a stress free zone by patting out my burgers systematically, and I haven't as yet desired a machine to do it for me. But the fact remains that there are a LOT of these little devices on the market in many forms - so here's the run-down:Williams Sonoma is all over the idea of perfectly formed burgers. They've got round ones, square ones, and pleasing heavy cast tools all around. The pass-through design seems to make sense as patties drop straight through after you press them.
Crate & Barrel has also been working the burger angle, although their presses make a bit less sense. The presses are virtually burger molds, with not much opportunity to extricate the patties intact...may explain why they're on clearance at this time!
There's also a lot of professional grade equipment on the market, and an affordable option is Weston's Burger Express. It's spring loaded, making it easy to remove the burger intact off of the raised platform after you press it. And you get to set your desired thickness. As with most presses, the use of waxed paper is encouraged to make production perfect.

What I'd like to see next is a press that allows you to customize - who says we all want the same burger size? Or maybe something that cranks out the burgers like a potato slicer? Or a patty sized cookie gun? There's definitely room for improvement here. I now understand the appeal - users describe deep satisfaction with consistent thickness, shape, and ease of production. But I think a better product awaits - after all if you're in the market for a burger press, you're seeking perfection.

How do you Start from Scratch?

The conversation tends to go like this:

Me: I'm in product development
You: Really? I have this great idea I always wanted to make, let me tell you about it.
I listen to the idea, then you ask: So how much would it cost? You know, to make it?
I describe many caveats and exceptions, but eventually I have to name a number, and your face falls.

The reality is that making something new isn't easy, and it sure isn't cheap. So how do you start from scratch? How do you know if it's worth the risk? This is an area where research meets design to generate a strategic plan. The development process relies on identifying a quantifiable market opportunity - there must be money to be made in the first place. The process equally relies on understanding your users to the degree that you can spot these opportunities, harvest sufficient insights, and produce a desirable solution to a user need.

I recently embarked on this journey for the first time with a true start-up entrepreneur. Over the years I've heard a thousand great ideas, but this was the first one that had the opportunity, insight, and solution to potentially make it. Visit Goat Gear to learn more about the product you're seeing below.

Couponed Out Yet?

Extreme Couponers is on TV. A million group coupon emails are in your inbox. Stores you "like" push incentives onto your Facebook wall. There's a coupon just about everywhere you look these days!

Why now? What's the trend all about? A new generation of consumers, who no longer subscribe to print papers, are discovering coupons for the first time through other mediums. Bloomberg values Groupon's IPO at $15B - $25B. To maintain that value Groupon will need to evolve - consumers are already experiencing coupon fatigue, and only 10% have actually purchased a group coupon. People are still vary of jumping down an internet rabbit hole chasing after a coupon - it's a little more sketchy than flipping through the Sunday paper coupons.

As companies accrue more and more data about us, the offers will become more specialized and the targeting will be fine-tuned. But are you really getting a discount(meaning real cash value) from the coupon offers that appeal to you? Or is this just advertising dressed cleverly in sheepskin? After all, you're not saving money if you're buying something you didn't plan to buy in the first place.

Heinz + Chick-Fil-A = Smart Ketchup

When touring North Carolina I have certain items on my must-eat-list: pork bbq, Bojangles, Cook Out shakes, and Chick-Fil-A. Acquired the Chick-Fil-A yesterday, and it was delicious as usual - and accompanied by a truly nifty ketchup packet from Heinz. Practical, intuitive - the only complaint I have is that I missed the free waffle fry day at Chick-Fil-A that accompanied the product launch in March.

The Old VW Beetle is New Again

Well, according to VW the new bug design is going to tap into new buyers:

"VW, which wants to triple its U.S. sales of cars and trucks over the next decade, says the changes will appeal to more buyers, especially men."

But I just don't buy it. I think they should've designed a new vehicle for men if that was their goal. My husband loves his GTI - and it doesn't look like that! Why not release the Corrado in the US? This is a man's car!The Beetle is only a Beetle because of it's visual brand language. They seem to have dismantled that in a search for new market potential. If anything they should've moved back to classic lines, with solid metal body and details. They should've celebrated their heritage instead of throwing it away. Just looking at the new Beetle makes this designer sad.

Sodastream, now with more Fizz!

The latest Sodastream model has some bells and whistles that'll hit the sweet spot for many consumers. The Fizz boasts the revolutionary "FizzChip" which tells you when you're running low on gas and lets you set your perfect customized gas level. If you like to set it and forget it, and don't want to be surprised when you run outta gas, this model is for you. The older models, still well worth the money, only provide for manual adjustment of the gas-i-ness, which takes a little practice. Watch and learn - the gas is gonna getcha!

The Flip is Over!

I'm both surprised and not surprised that Cisco is shutting down Flip. The designer in me is frankly shocked - that they're willing to throw away the wealth of good brand faith that Flip has earned in such a short time. The strategist in me says, why on earth did Cisco buy Flip in the first place? It's a shame that the great PD that went into the original Flip will die with this company - although the ID work was outsourced, so maybe not so much. Smart Design was responsible for the ground breaking user interface, and for much of the population this technology is still relevant. Yes, smart phones abound, but much of the population can't afford those - the Flip brought simple video capture to those who couldn't afford more expensive products, or who had limited familiarity with computers. It was one of the first video cameras that almost all users could understand how to download.

Why's it going away then? Well, a product line (and a company for that matter) have to be loved to succeed - you have to fight for your brand these days, and have the vision to lead it. Cisco doesn't have that vision for consumer products and frankly they shouldn't have tried to buy it like a commodity. While it makes sense for their bottom line to drop Flip now, it's a waste of brand potential. Overall it's sad that the original Flip owners sold to a bidder worth $40B who would never really have much stake in a $40M company.

Beaba Next Gen Keeps it Rolling

Williams Sonoma is promoting the new Beaba products that accompany their baby food cooker/processor. I love, love the new Stackable Formula & Snack containers! Practical, realistic, still fun - someone who's familiar with the daily process of schlepping small amounts of many things for babies designed this. After trying it, they could stand to improve the screw threads - a simple quarter turn to lock would've been more solid, but more expensive to manufacture.Now if only they'd re-visit their food portioning freezer trays. Yes, they're cute, and I get the whole flower thing, but they're completely impractical to fit into your freezer or fridge. Give us the right shape, Beaba!