Why User Research Matters: Designing Beyond What Clients Say

“A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” — Steve Jobs

How often have you delivered exactly what a client asked for, only to hear, "This isn't what we wanted"? It's a frustrating cycle that happens when we take client requests at face value instead of digging deeper to uncover the real problem.

The Real Problem Behind the Ask

Imagine a company hiring a design team to refresh their outdated UI. Their request? "Make it look modern and fresh so we feel relevant again." The team delivers a sleek, cutting-edge interface, but the client remains unsatisfied. Why?

The truth is, their issue wasn’t just an outdated UI—it was poor sales performance, and they weren’t sure why they were losing customers. Simply updating the design was like putting a fresh coat of paint on a crumbling foundation.

This is why user research is crucial. It helps us go beyond what clients say they want and uncover what they actually need.

When Listening to Customers Backfires

Consider the case of Shoes of Prey, an Australian fashion startup that let customers design custom shoes. Market research suggested people loved the idea of personalizing their footwear. But in reality? Customers didn’t want to create their own shoes—they wanted to be inspired and shown what to wear. The company learned this lesson too late, leading to financial struggles.

User research prevents costly missteps like this by uncovering real motivations, not just surface-level preferences.

Why Customers Struggle to Express Their Needs

Understanding human psychology helps explain why clients often struggle to articulate their true needs. Neuroscience divides our thinking into two systems:

• System 1 (Reactive Thinking): Intuitive, emotional, and habitual.

• System 2 (Analytical Thinking): Logical, deliberate, and effortful.

When asked about their needs, clients tend to default to System 2, providing answers that sound rational but don’t reflect their real, intuitive behavior. It’s only through careful observation and research that we uncover their System 1-driven motivations—the ones that truly shape decisions.

The Power of User Research

Despite its value, user research often meets resistance. Have you heard these objections before?

• “We are the customer.”

• “We’ve already done research.”

• “Our employees use the product, so we don’t need research.”

• “Let’s just launch and fix things later.”

• “We don’t have the budget.”

These assumptions can lead to expensive failures. The best way to counter them? Demonstrating how user research saves time, money, and frustration by reducing guesswork.

Effective User Research Methods

Here are a few research techniques that help uncover true user needs:

1. User Interviews – Gain qualitative insights through structured conversations and thematic analysis.

2. User Observation – Watch how users interact with products in real-world settings to identify patterns.

3. Shadowing – Immerse yourself in the user’s experience by following them through their workflows.

4. Usability Testing – Observe users as they complete tasks to pinpoint friction points and uncover issues early.

The "Five Whys" Technique

When conducting user research, repeatedly asking "why?" helps drill down to the root problem. For example:

1. "Why do you want a new UI?" Because the product feels outdated.

2. "Why does that matter?" Because customers aren’t engaging with it.

3. "Why aren’t they engaging?" Because they don’t understand how to use it.

4. "Why don’t they understand?" Because key workflows are unclear.

5. "Why are workflows unclear?" Because the navigation is inconsistent.

The real problem isn’t the UI—it’s usability. Without research, we might have missed this insight entirely.

Behavioural Economics: Uncovering Hidden Motivations

Sometimes, even research participants don’t consciously understand their own behaviours. That’s where behaviours economics comes in. Here are five principles to keep in mind:

• Anchoring: The first piece of information given heavily influences perceptions (e.g., pricing strategies).

• Defaulting: People tend to stick with pre-set options rather than making active choices.

• Ostrich Effect: Users may ignore bad news or avoid facing problems in their workflow.

• Social Proof: People look to others for cues on what they should do.

• Loss Aversion: Users fear losing something more than they desire gaining something new.

Integrating these principles into research helps uncover motivations users aren’t even aware of themselves.

Conclusion: Design Beyond Words

As designers, we have a responsibility to go beyond what clients say they want and discover what they truly need. User research bridges this gap, ensuring our designs don’t just look good—but also solve real problems.

By combining research methodologies with psychology and behavioral economics, we can craft intuitive, effective products that drive real impact.

Want to create designs that truly resonate with users? Let’s talk about how user research can elevate your product.