Finding the right product-market fit for your product or process improvement is the single most important step in new product development and failure to do so i.e. not producing something that customers want to buy or use, is the leading cause of startup failure. The second most common one is failing to use a VAST business model.

By now you have probably heard about "getting out of the office" to talk to potential customers to validate core business model canvas hypotheses. Unfortunately, when you interview customer personnas, they don't always tell you the truth, much like job interviews. So, not surprisingly, there is little correlation between interview performance and job performance.

So, what are some other ways to derive insights?

1. The data detective – des research with secondary data eg customer data; analytics; industry reports.
2. Google Trends.
3. Google Keyword Planner.
4. Google Analytics.
5. Government Census Data, World Bank, IMF etc.
6. Third party research reports.
7. Social Media Analytics.
8. CRM system.
9. The journalist – Conversations/Interviews with customers 1:1 or even in focus groups;
10. The anthropologist – Observational studies; diary studies.
11. (B2C) Stay/live with the family, participate in dailt routines, learn about what drives people.
12. (B2B) Work alongside, observe, what keeps these people awake at night?
13. (B2C) Observe shopping behaviour.
14. (B2C) Shadow customer for one day.
15. (any) Find new ways of immersing yourself.
16. The impersonator – Step in the shoes of your customer; cognitive walkthrough.
17. The cocreator – Workshops.
18. The scientist – Experiments, A/B testing, user testing etc.

Most biodesign programs require students to spend time embedded into end user environments. In a sense, they make innovation rounds. The concept has taken hold in digital health.

Suppose I asked you to design a new shopping cart?

Would you ask people what they want or go to Whole Foods and watch how people shop? Remember, customers want something to make a hole, not buy a drill.

Here are some problems, however, with using doctors as early evangelists. Plus, there are many stakeholders and they all want different jobs done.

Getting out of the office is a good idea. Just use all of your senses, not just your ears, when you do it.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs and Twitter@ArlenMD.