> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.philmckinney.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Observation Skills – Find the unspoken needs and wants of customers
- URL: https://www.philmckinney.com/observation-skills-find-the-unspoken-needs-and-wants-of-customers/
- Published: 2008-06-01T16:34:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-01T14:10:24.000Z
- Author: Phil McKinney
- Tags: Past Shows, Studio Sessions, observation skills, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-03-26 05:08

Download [KI\_20080601.mp3](http://media.libsyn.com/media/philmckinney/KI%5F20080601.mp3?ref=philmckinney.com)

Using observation skills to find the unspoken needs and wants of customers.

- Simple approach – Use feedback from customers (complaints, emails, etc)
- Go deeper  
  - Active Observation – get our of the chair/office and go to where the customers are
  - Active Reflection – after the observation, go back and dig deeper in the information you gathered
- Use empathic (observational) design  
  - In-the-world observations (home, office, where the customers are)
  - Trend Safari
- Ethnographic Studies  
  - Study of customers as a social group  
    - Customer segmentation/persona
    - Structure of the customer tribe
    - Wishes/desires of the tribe
    - Fears/concerns of the tribe
  - Observation of the tribe
- Practice helps improve your observation skills  
  - People watching  
    - Are they alone?
    - Are they an organized individual?
    - Are they married?/Do they have kids?
    - Are they a shopper or a buyer?
  - Friends – in-house observations  
    - What is their task in music and art?
    - What are their priorities (exercise, hobbies,etc)?
    - Is there a gap between their professional and personal personas?
  - For the above:  
    - What tribe do they belong to?
    - Who else do you know is in the same tribe?
    - How big do you think that tribe is?