Several examples from different industries, each reflecting the essential role of the customer in breakthrough innovation:

An international seed company saw its customer as the farmer who planted those seeds. But in looking at the value chain in which the company operated, we knew there were many customers downstream from the farmer (mills, storage, feed lots, manufacturers, dairies, retail outlets, etc.) who were beginning to work together in new ways. Those customers had a variety of needs that were often different from the farmers' needs, and which had major implications for the company's products. Based on that, the company has revised its concept of customer, and is actively working with downstream partners to guide it in creating seeds with different characteristics that meet their needs. These new products and relationships are positioning the company for a far more successful future.

A software company had fallen victim to a common trap - that of having internal people design what they wanted to create, or what they thought the customer would want, without really knowing what was important to customers. Our discussions with current customers, past customers and potential customers revealed large gaps between internal perceptions and customer wants and needs. This resulted in a prioritized set of opportunities for new services and software features.

A pharmaceutical company had designed web sites intended to meet the needs of one of its customer groups (doctors who are "Opinion Leaders") - but these were not being used. We learned what was really important to these doctors, and created a complete rework of a pilot website and a model for all other company websites. We also identified three major opportunities for the industry: documenting the ROI for Opinion Leaders, reengineering the process by which they are identified and managed, and forming an industry coalition to speak with one voice on matters that are threatening market share and viability.

A food retailer had targeted its store brand at purely price conscious shoppers who did not pay as much attention to quality. Knowledge we gained from customers identified the opportunity to move the store brand more upscale, with a guaranty to equal national brands at lower cost. This was more in line with the target market of the chain, and fit better with the customers who contributed most to the chain's profit. Once changed, market share and profitability of store brand soared.