Should you listen to the customer

Intro

Should you create what the customers want or what you want to create? This seems obvious. You should create what the customers want so they can buy it. Right! Well i will talk about you should do do you can maximize sales and profit.. I will clear common misconceptions people have when selling their product. 

You shouldn't care what your customers think 

You should not care about what the customer wants but what you want. Customers don't know what they want. They may seem like they want something but just because they say they want something, doesn't mean they will buy your product. Create the product you want and then convince the customers they also want it. This is what apple does and so far it is effective. 

You should pay attention to what they do though 

But you should listen to what customers want. You do this but looking at what they do, not what they say. If they say they want purple but buy red then it would be pointless to buy and sell purple. They may say they want a cheaper product but will gladly pay for a T-Shirt that is selling for $500 but cost $10 because the the customer likes the brand.

Conclusion 

Focus on making what you would want to have. Then sell it. Through this method you can sell it at a higher price as you can justify it through a high quality product and a good brand. Tell them this is a great product and they will be convinced that it will good. Plus you don't have to deal with demands that lower the profit you make.