Peloton and the Power of Asking Questions

Many of our clients benefit from using opinion research to refine a business model or shape a product launch. Still, it's not uncommon to hear pushback – that customers don't know what they want, so it's not worth asking questions about things they don't know. This argument is often coupled with a story about Steve Jobs and his foresight into the unknown future market for the iPhone – "no research could have told you that."

Qualitative researcher Annie Sklaver Orenstein reveals the flaws in this argument in a recent piece on the share price collapse of Peloton, the one-time Silicon Valley darling that misjudged the size of its potential customer base, among other challenges. In Orenstein's view, Peloton failed to ask the "right questions of the right people," a process that helps "design products that really 'get' people and make their lives better."

The bottom line: many factors go into someone's buying decision. Opinion research helps you understand the values, perspectives and priorities that underpin that decision process. This is true whether you're asking someone to buy a $2,000 at-home exercise bike or to vote for a political candidate. To understand someone's values and priorities, you have to ask the right questions. Skipping that step is an act of hubris.