Ekekwe urges brands to focus on consumer research in 2023
By Felicia Nwosu
Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe, Lead Faculty, Tekedia Institute, has emphasised the need for brands to focus on developing products and services that go beyond the needs of customers, while urging them to rather pursue their expectations and perceptions through intense, thorough research come 2023.
Stating this on his LinkedIn page, the notable academic and entrepreneur mentioned that getting feedbacks and understanding customers’ needs through market survey and customer discovery are important factors that can help accelerate the growth of brands.
“As 2023 arrives, research very well so that you can focus on what your customers really want, and not what you think they want, or what they say they want. If you have a social media account and post once in a while, if you position your antenna very well, you will pick signals from customers. Those comments open the world of opportunities,” he said.
For brands to stay ahead of competition, Professor Ekekwe suggested advised consumer research experts to avoid production that is prompted by mere assumption, but inspired by end-user needs.
“Focusing on the needs of customers is a recipe for disaster. The whole desire must be to deliver products and services at the level of customer perception where they are offered products and services which they might not have even imagined would be possible. But the day they see the products, they will say, ‘wow! That is the thing I have been thinking’. This also explains the limitations of focus groups, because focus groups are tethered to what the customers think they need,” he said.
He noted that customer discovery and customer validation are critical phases in product development, while urging brands and businesses to incorporate special values such as empathy to deepen consumers affinity.
“Customer discovery and customer validation are critical phases in product development. There is a reason in that village that makes everyone want to buy palm wine from Mazi Nkwo. That market woman that sells food at the corner of the telephone mast in the market never takes food home. What is the secret? Empathy – seeing markets from the perspectives of your customers and creating products and services to fix their frictions,” he said.
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