Then we need to identify what benefits the customer is looking for when they make a purchase – their “buying factors”. This can be tricky. A good starting point is conventional market research, using surveys to ask customers what aspect of the product or service is most valuable for them. However, much of this decision may be made at a sub-conscious level and customers are rarely able to articulate emotional benefits. Deep behavioral anthropology and/or quantitative method like conjoint analysis can provide a more accurate picture than surveys alone. Management judgement is useful as a cross-check, but is potentially dangerous since we want to understand the real customer perspective, not what management thinks the customer want.