Maybe the product is used in the wrong way? –> Improve the Instruction for Use (IFU) or maybe some 人間工学 issue or some labeling/marking or some translation; do again some 使いやすさ 初めて利用するユーザーを対象にテストを行い、まるで壁のハエのように（つまり、ユーザーがテストしている様子を邪魔せずに観察する）。
It’s a bit easier in IT domains, but still possible in all markets somehow. Among several methods:
traditional method: use an independent study company
questionnaire/feedback directly in the product box. Tip: printing a feedback page in the IFU is a cheap possible method, but having it as a separate paper will make it more visible and trigger more feedback. Some incentives on it will help further (“get one free consumable”)
mail or forum on your site (should all new idea posts be visible to other visitors?)
have a search feature on your site, collect the search terms, and perform a regular review of what your visitors are looking for. Whether or not you were the correct company to provide what was searched is arguable, but these searches do represent real customer needs. A less-effective variant of that is to analyze the server logs and see what search terms lead visitors to your site and then the path and leaving the page of your site.
Feature request link (many people like to give their opinion & ideas; just collect them … you have your next product specifications!)
They will appreciate some reward (like being called directly for discussion or being a beta tester of the product if there is no security issue)
True story: a famous video-projector company, had an independent forum website with a generic different site name, 99% maintained by one of their employees. The forum was about discussion and support for all brands, and although he was not saying or arguing the contrary, you really had to dig a lot to see which company was behind.
Was it a way to get comments, defects, and ideas about their competitors? Original idea, but very borderline deontologically from our point of view.
Note to forget the marketing motto: “word of mouth is gold” = a happy customer will speak & advertise for your product much more (and cheaper) than you will ever be able to
half full or half empty attitude?
The last word: courtesy
Listening to feedback is not only for opportunities & (next) designs … it’s simply being open-minded … and polite!
In the wording of course, but in the attitude also.
Think of the last time you got by email or by phone a so-called “customer support” that:
was actively looking on your side to find a fault (even if they were possibly true)
saying its not their fault
… spending more time (and huge writing) saying arguing and defending, than just giving you a quick help to get you started
or that was in fact an automatic answering bot, asking you plenty of questions and you just can choose between press #1 or press #2 each time. It makes you crawl in its tree-like questionnaire. The only real choice you had was to hang down. And later on, you read on the website that they claim to have #1 support according to any unknown
No doubt that in some years AI software will change that & have an even a better calm & really listening attitude and knowledge to help you solve problems than humans. Be sure at that time to integrate some product idea grabbing in that software!
Even if the customer made a mistake, somehow it’s your mistake (not user friendly? not explained enough ? too complicated ? too small easy-to-lose parts ? missing the right tool ? an edge was sharp ? too fragile for the intended use or even for another ? ….)
Do you still see the bottle half empty or half full when you get a claim? (tip: the gold nugget is in the half-full mindset)
用語集
instruction For Use (IFU): 医療機器または製品の適切な使用、取り扱い、メンテナンスに関する詳細情報を提供し、ユーザーの安全性と有効性を確保する文書。
Voice of the Customer (VoC): 顧客の期待、好み、嫌悪感を把握し、製品開発、サービス改善、そして顧客体験全体の向上に役立てるためのプロセス。アンケート調査、インタビュー、フィードバックメカニズムなど、さまざまな手法を用いて、対象顧客から直接インサイトを収集する。
取り上げるトピック： イノベーション、ユーザーフィードバック、製品設計、顧客フィードバック、長期的なメリット、コミュニケーション、故障モード、ユーザビリティテスト、市場セグメント、独立調査、機能リクエスト、カスタマーサポート、人間工学、使用説明書（IFU）、安全性レビュー、ユーザーニーズ、口コミ、オープンマインド ISO 9241、ISO 9001、ISO 13485、ISO 31000、および ISO/IEC 25010。
