How Field Observations Can Break Market Perceptions

When a large oral health care company came to general manager of IDEO Tom Kelley looking to improve their line of kids toothbrushes, Kelley immediately said that field observations would be necessary.

Despite some worries from the company, the decision to conduct field observations was made. And the discoveries found during the process ended up radically changing the future appearance of kids’ toothbrushes.

In the end, Kelley and his team were able to use empirical research to overcome what was, at the time, an unknown design limitation. As a result of Kelley’s findings, the hiring company was able to become the leader in kids toothbrush sales for 18 months.

Without these field observations, it’s unlikely that the same conclusions would’ve been reached. Consequently, the company would’ve never experienced that surge in sales. For more on the value of field research, watch the full video with Kelley.