I’d like to make an assumption for a second; that everyone knows the phrase “the customer is always right”. Maybe you’ve used it, maybe you believe it, but do you know that it’s only half of the story? This quote has been misused and misunderstood a lot since its inception. The full quote is actually “The customer is always right, in matters of taste”. That changes things, right? When we think of it in the context of user experience (UX) and modern design, customers may know what they like, but to know what they need is a whole different thing.
The Original Intent
The phrase was used initially by Harry Gordon Selfridge in the 1900’s (founder of Selfridges), in the hope of providing a great service, without judging the wants of the customer. The full quote “The customer is always right, in matters of taste”, is an acknowledgement that customers are experts when it comes to their own preferences, but aren’t necessarily the best at determining the real technical requirements.
This brings me quite nicely to another quote which I admire, by Steve Jobs (founder of Apple) which says “It’s not the customer’s job to know what they want.” So whose job is it? While the customer can only speak to their own desires and frustrations, Jobs believed that they often lacked the vision to come up with the best solution. As designers and UX specialists, it’s ultimately our job to translate those desires into something tangible which effectively eases the frustrations.
Misapplication in Design
There are many businesses around the world today which adhere to “the customer is always right”, even to the point of it being used as a mantra and a unique selling point (USP). But what happens when it is used without the full context of “... in matters of taste”? Well, in the case of design, if you take a well crafted UX journey and mix it with conflicting customer requests, you can end up with poor UX and confusing designs. An example of this was the release of Windows Vista in 2007. For years, Microsoft had a reputation for ‘software bloat’, but Vista was on another level. With 50 million lines of code, Vista was loaded full with user-requested features; such as enhanced security measures and more customisation options. However, in an attempt to fulfil every user request, the system was widely criticised for being slow, bloated, and difficult to use; which ultimately led to a poor user experience.
It goes back to the words of Steve Jobs, that customers are experts in their own frustrations, but don’t always know the best solution and sometimes don’t even know what is possible. In essence, people don’t know what they don’t know. Henry Ford, a true pioneer and founder of Ford Motor Company put it this way; “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” In reality, what they needed was to make the car more affordable and accessible so that people could get around faster and more efficiently.
In UX, it is the role of the designer to understand the reasons behind user feedback. Customers may always request more features or complexity, but those requests don’t always solve the problem and enhance the experience.
Bridging User Desires and UX Design
Can we bridge this gap between wants and needs?
The quote by Henry Ford highlights a big gap between what users say they want and what they need. When Apple first announced the iPhone, it was revolutionary. People were used to phones with physical buttons, where it worked primarily as a means of communication. But Steve Jobs anticipated the needs of people and designed products that users didn’t know they wanted, and as such positioned themselves as the leader in customer electronics. It is up to the designer to guide users towards a simpler, more intuitive solution.
An example of this is where users might want more filtering options on a website with lots of products to help them find what they need more quickly. But in reality more filters can become a bottle-neck and a blockage to efficiency. So in some cases, it may be more intuitive to implement a simple search function, where you can integrate suggested products, recommendations, recent searches etc.
Best Practices for UX Designers
How can we as designers navigate the space between customer feedback and effective design?
Beyond Listening – Feedback is about more than what is being said, it is about understanding why it is being said.
Be Market Leading, not Market Led – Like Henry Ford and Steve Jobs, focus on anticipating needs and solving problems that users don’t know they have.
Test Your Solution – Make use of data and testing to validate the user experience of a proposed solution.
Conclusion
“The customer is always right, in matters of taste”.
In UX, it should be used more as a guide, not a law. It is important to consider preferences, but it is more important as a designer to interpret their needs and create something that is intuitive, seamless, and serves their needs in a functional and simple way. What I have learned particularly from pioneers like Steve Jobs and Henry Ford is that real innovation happens when we turn our focus away from only pleasing preferences, to truly solving problems beyond what has been previously imagined is possible.
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