Customer Feedback Limits Product Creativity, Says Spanish Chef
Julia Hanna writes in a case study about famed spanish chef Ferran Adrià that the owner of elBulli in northeastern Spain says creativity can’t come from just listening to what customers think they want:
“Adrià’s idea is that if you listen to customers, what they tell you they want will be based on something they already know,” [Harvard Professor Michael I.] Norton observes. “If I like a good steak, you can serve that to me, and I’ll enjoy it. But it will never be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. To create those experiences, you almost can’t listen to the customer.”
Norton asks students to consider the operations and marketing of elBulli. There is much about the restaurant that is inefficient, as MBAs are quick to note: Adrià should lower his staff numbers, use cheaper ingredients, improve his supply chain, and increase the restaurant’s hours of operation. But “fixing” elBulli turns it into just another restaurant, says Norton: “The things that make it inefficient are part of what makes it so valuable to people.”
(Via Idea of the Day)
Doug Cornelius says:
Dec 7th, 2009
Stewart -
I think you need to distinguish between customer feedback for a new product and feedback for an existing product.
Feedback for an existing product will be useful for improving the product. If your customers want something a little different, you would be well served to make the improvements.
When working on a new product, customer feedback could be limiting. I doubt that Jobs and the folks at Apple listened to much customer feedback when they first designed the iPod. But they are listening now as the constantly redesign and release new versions.
Stewart Mader says:
Jan 6th, 2010
Doug,
I agree. I think that it’s important to have a strong idea of what the product should be, and focus on getting it right before you show it to the public. Feedback on something that’s not clearly defined is not as useful as feedback that helps refine an existing product.