--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Customer research produces bland…" description: "\"Customer research produces bland products. We're producing a piece of art.\" — Michael Arrington" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3c/michael-arrington-12023_art_customer-research-produces-bland-product_1252120.jpg" --- # Customer research produces bland products. We're producing… ![“Customer research produces bland products. We're producing a piece of art.” quote by Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3c/michael-arrington-12023_art_customer-research-produces-bland-product_1252120.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3c/michael-arrington-12023_art_customer-research-produces-bland-product_1252120.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3c/michael-arrington-12023_art_customer-research-produces-bland-product_1252120.jpg) > “Customer research produces bland products. We're producing a piece of art.” [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating products without deep user insight leads to uninspired results; artful design requires understanding customers. **In simple terms:** Products need real user insight to avoid blandness. Key Takeaway Prioritize deep customer research. Themes innovation design user experience Mood reflective inspirational Type advice motivational When to use this quote - product development - startup launch - branding - UX workshops Key Concepts human‑centered design creativity market fit Questions to Reflect On - How can teams balance speed with thorough research? - What methods reveal hidden user needs? A Different Perspective Research can be costly and time‑consuming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Bland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bland/) [Bland Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bland-products-3950334/) [Customer Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer-research-3757795/) [Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customers/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Produces Bland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produces-bland-3950335/) [Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/products/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Research Produces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research-produces-3950336/) ## Related quotes > [“Peter Drucker, the noted management guru, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “customer research may be more important than market research—but far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaynie-l-smith/peter-drucker-the-noted-management-guru-wrote-in-the-wall-street/) [Jaynie L. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaynie-l-smith/) > [The first time formal customer research is done, executives frequently are surprised by the sizeable percentage of customers who defect for service-related reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-l-berry/the-first-time-formal-customer-research-is-done-executives-frequently/) [Leonard L. Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-l-berry/) > [“One of the major reasons to do user or customer research is so that you can identify and understand the schemata that your particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-m-weinschenk/one-of-the-major-reasons-to-do-user-or-customer-research-is-so-that/) [Susan M. Weinschenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-m-weinschenk/) > [“Mark’s ideas tended to the bland, and there was no point in asking Miles, whose embittered suggestions all ran to things like Vomit Vanilla…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/mark-s-ideas-tended-to-the-bland-and-there-was-no-point-in-asking/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [For a couple of days after chemotherapy, food tastes really bland, even the best foods. I haven't been sick, but have been a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grete-waitz/for-a-couple-of-days-after-chemotherapy-food-tastes-really-bland-even/) [Grete Waitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grete-waitz/) > [Now is the time to act or get stuck with a bland, boring, career politician who will lose to Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/now-is-the-time-to-act-or-get-stuck-with-a-bland-boring-career/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I really like people who can do both drama and comedy and not some like middle of the road do both drama and comedy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gunn/i-really-like-people-who-can-do-both-drama-and-comedy-and-not-some/) [James Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gunn/) > [Do you want to increase your hunger for the Lord? Try weaning yourself from the world's diet- be prepared for some withdrawal symptoms when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-leigh-demoss/do-you-want-to-increase-your-hunger-for-the-lord-try-weaning-yourself/) [Nancy Leigh DeMoss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-leigh-demoss/) > [We didn't think the library was funny looking in it's faux- Greek splendor, nor did we find the cuisine limited or bland, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/we-didn-t-think-the-library-was-funny-looking-in-it-s-faux-greek/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [The turkeys that most Americans eat for Thanksgiving are turkeys - losers that are mass produced and bland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-burros/the-turkeys-that-most-americans-eat-for-thanksgiving-are-turkeys/) [Marian Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-burros/) > [ If no one speaks out for \[young readers\], if they don’t speak out for themselves, all they’ll get for required reading will be the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/if-no-one-speaks-out-for-young-readers-if-they-don-t-speak-out-for/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [“I desperately wanted to give him something. By contrast, taking seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-desperately-wanted-to-give-him-something-by-contrast-taking-seemed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I'm always amazed by writers who tell me they plan everything at the beginning. I feel their writing days must be very bland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/i-m-always-amazed-by-writers-who-tell-me-they-plan-everything-at-the/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [Going to a site with more users seems obviously better to me, but at the same time, having a bland, middle of the road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-rudder/going-to-a-site-with-more-users-seems-obviously-better-to-me-but-at/) [Christian Rudder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-rudder/) ## More by Michael Arrington > [Most people have an aversion to risk, my college economics professor told me. Which means they have to be rewarded to take on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-people-have-an-aversion-to-risk-my-college-economics-professor/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [If you really care about Facebook likes, don't just post your stuff to Twitter and then rely on it being republished automatically to Facebook.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/if-you-really-care-about-facebook-likes-don-t-just-post-your-stuff-to/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Before the Internet, all most people cared about was Office. And Office was really the only reason anyone wanted Windows machines instead of Macs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/before-the-internet-all-most-people-cared-about-was-office-and-office/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [I am a partner at CrunchFund, a venture capital firm with investments in many startups around the world. I am also a limited partner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/i-am-a-partner-at-crunchfund-a-venture-capital-firm-with-investments/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Startups Are Hard. So Work More, Cry Less, And Quit All The Whining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/startups-are-hard-so-work-more-cry-less-and-quit-all-the-whining/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [If we want to get beyond this whole I'm-cool-because-I-care-about-women thing, what we really need to do is we have to start encouraging women to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/if-we-want-to-get-beyond-this-whole-i-m-cool-because-i-care-about/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Some people ask why we don't just wait until we have the whole story before posting. The fact is that we sometimes can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/some-people-ask-why-we-don-t-just-wait-until-we-have-the-whole-story/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [America is an unsolvable problem: a nation divided and deeply in hate with itself. If it was a startup, we'd understand how unfixable the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/america-is-an-unsolvable-problem-a-nation-divided-and-deeply-in-hate/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [I live a fairly simple life, and that didn't change much after I sold TechCrunch in 2010. I didn't buy a new house or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/i-live-a-fairly-simple-life-and-that-didn-t-change-much-after-i-sold/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Friendships and marriage are far more potent than financial conflicts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/friendships-and-marriage-are-far-more-potent-than-financial-conflicts/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Most of the money I make now comes from investments from CrunchFund. And the vast majority of that is what's called carried interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-of-the-money-i-make-now-comes-from-investments-from-crunchfund/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Write good content about stuff that you love. Readers will find you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/write-good-content-about-stuff-that-you-love-readers-will-find-you/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [A business model that hasn't been tried before is always interesting, even if it's likely to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/a-business-model-that-hasn-t-been-tried-before-is-always-interesting/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [I've always believed that government tends to screw up whatever it touches, but Obama in particular seemed different. He understood tech issues that left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/i-ve-always-believed-that-government-tends-to-screw-up-whatever-it/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Talking about Apple v. Microsoft without mentioning the Internet and the browser is like talking about WWII without talking about the nuke. Framing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/talking-about-apple-v-microsoft-without-mentioning-the-internet-and/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) [Explore all 56 Michael Arrington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Customer research produces bland products. 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