What's wrong with Market Research? Plenty according to IT consultant, author and developer Isseki Nagae (in translation from the Japanese):

Large advertising companies have long invested huge sums of money in conducting studies based on research, customer surveys and interviews. I myself have participated in such studies. At the big advertising agencies they round up users and market to them as reps from the manufacturing companies watch, sometimes through one-way mirrors. I’ve heard of some companies that go so far as to base their product planning on the opinions of schoolgirls. Will this type of planning seriously result in a hit product? I don't think so, and ... neither did Steve Jobs. I’ve actually been to many of these marketing focus groups, and I can tell you that no great ideas come of them.

He then quotes Steve Jobs on the matter:

It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want.

And:

It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.

See also:

• Pomona's reaction to “The Magnificent Ambersons.”
• Market research's initial reaction to “All in the Family” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
• Audience test scores and “The Office.”

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