Customers Are The Heart Of Innovative Businesses Keep your customer at the heart of your business.

One of the main reasons start-ups fail is because they don't create solutions that meet their customers' needs. Failure is avoidable. Businesses that understand their customers feelings, challenges, expectations and motivations make themselves indispensable in highly competitive markets because they recognise that true innovation is led by customer insight.

An incredible example of a business that believes in innovation driven by insight is Netflix. They revolutionised the way people watch video content by listening to their customer's needs. You've probably heard the story before: after paying a $40 overdue DVD fee, Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix. He was simply too busy to return his DVD.

He recognised that this experience wasn't exclusive to him, but that it was a problem that many people faced. He saw a gap in the market for receiving and returning videos more effectively, and that is how the $150 billion business was born.

If your start-up doesn't fulfil a human need, then you're setting yourself up for failure. It's not enough to have a cool idea.

Ask yourself, "What is the market need behind the offering?" and then test ways of delivering your offering in the most user-friendly manner. Talk to your consumers, understand their likes and dislikes and establish your business purpose before haphazardly allocating funds to R&D.

You can't go from being a California based DVD-by-mail provider, to becoming the world's largest online video streaming service without a business plan. It's important to recognise the step-by-step process of success. Netflix didn't go from delivering DVD's to pouring capital into the production of video content within six months. That sort of development would have bankrupt the company almost immediately.

It took 21 years for the business to become content creators.

• In 1999, the company became a subscription service because they found that customers preferred paying a monthly fee rather than making a once off purchase.
• Then, in 2009, the company used investor capital to expand their DVD collection because their clients wanted a larger selection of movies.
• In 2010, the business expanded internationally because they saw a gap in the market across various countries.
• Finally, in 2013, Netflix created its first original content series because customers craved fascinating content beyond the overused Hollywood archetype.

The point is: Progress didn't happen overnight. The business had to set goals and objectives. They then had to fund their growth by presenting market opportunities, backed by customer insights, to their investors. Establish your start-up one step at a time and make sure every progression isn't innovation for innovations sake – it must be inspired by a human need.

Netflix was founded by a computer scientist and a marketing director. While one partner focused on Netflix' service development, the other focused on sales. Since the company's origin, collaboration and balance have been the cornerstones of the business' success.

Netflix is currently composed of a diverse team of tech-professionals and designers. They understand the importance of combining technology and design to offer customer-inspired user-experiences.

After conducting consumer research, Netflix discovered that series and movie artwork influences viewing decisions by 82%. This has resulted in the creation of more descriptive and provocative designs. Netflix is known for leveraging human-behaviour to revolutionise their service offering.

As an entrepreneur, you can increase your ROI by partnering with the experts that understand human-based innovation.

Keep your customer at the heart of your business.