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  • September 2015 (Revised March 2017)
  • Technical Note
  • HBS Case Collection

FIELD Global Immersion: Developing Customer Empathy

By: Jill Avery
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:8
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Abstract

The Design Thinking process begins with empathizing with potential customers. Empathizing, being aware of, interpreting, and understanding the thoughts of others, as well as being able to vicariously experience them oneself, requires the careful and deliberate study of consumers. Extensive use of qualitative methods, such as observation, interviews, and focus groups, that provide rich, thick descriptions of consumer behavior can be essential for building this understanding. Once product or service prototypes are developed, quantitative methods, such as surveys, experiments, and in-market tests, can help assess their viability in the market.

Keywords

Market Research; Design Thinking; Customer Behavior; Ethnography; Interviews; Surveys; A/B Testing; Experimentation; Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers

Citation

Avery, Jill. "FIELD Global Immersion: Developing Customer Empathy." Harvard Business School Technical Note 316-082, September 2015. (Revised March 2017.)
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About The Author

Jill J. Avery

Marketing
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Related Work

    • September 2015 (Revised March 2017)
    • Faculty Research

    FIELD Global Immersion: Developing Customer Empathy

    By: Jill Avery
Related Work
  • FIELD Global Immersion: Developing Customer Empathy By: Jill Avery
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