Customer Need Identification Methods in New Product Development: What Works “Best”?

Abstract

Although new product development is associated with high failure rates, it is still the most natural measure for firms to grow and by that expand their market position. Therefore, firms need to optimally align product functions to the needs of their target customer. By conducting an online survey with 179 participants, this paper identifies the most commonly applied need identification techniques. We can show that analyzing internal data and external reports today is the most commonly used method, at least in the German-speaking world. Still, interacting with customers via different approaches is perceived as the most beneficial approach, at the same time being very resource-demanding. In contrast to most scientific studies analyzing this topic, we furthermore identify reasons for refusing certain methods, e.g. because of lack of knowledge and resources or severe resistance within the organizations. Additionally, we derive academic and practical information from the input of the survey data for an improved application in the future.