What has worked for me in the past (for the provision of services) has been a combination of becoming intimately acquainted with a process, and talking to people who carry out this process regularly, both with the intention of identifying where a need can be fulfilled. I am not talking about a bullet list of features to checkmark or cross out, that's junk, users don't LIE about a feature that they say they need and then don't, no, users simply do not know what they truly need a lot of the time, I don't focus on getting them to tell me a feature per se or a highly detailed aspect of the service I aim to provide them with (because what the hell do they know about the work I am doing, they know about the work they do, which is why I go to them) I focus on obtaining information and insight from them. I aim to give people what they need, as opposed to what they want . . . why? because if you just give them what they need, they will thank you for it later when they realize that this is what they needed, if you give them what they want, they will later realize that is not what they needed, but will not blame themselves for it, they will blame you.
Market surveys and market studies in many ways shapes and forms have been, are, and will continue to be used to great success, the problem with your variation is that it involves deception. You don't bs people and trick them into taking your marketing survey under the guise of a product offer.
I am seriously curious to know how many times you have seen that work. I would think that many people would resent the tactic and retaliate by not purchasing your product, or they would lose their trust in you (and rightly so, you done suckered them once) and therefore respect.
It's interesting to note how many thousands of products have been researched, developed, and taken to market to great success, without deception tactics.
As for success, it was introduced to me by a very successful serial technology entrepreneur, investor & advisor with at least one personal 200M exit, and multiple smaller or similar size.
I guess we will agree to disagree on the ethics. I personally don't find it any different than deceptive advertising that is used in the majority of sales channels worldwide, the many deceptive claims of products overstating the benefits, understating negatives etc.
I see what you are saying about the widespread consumer deception, it is true, and yes - we can agree to disagree.
I simply refuse to do it because others are, and believe that successful market studies can be carried out without deceptive tactics.
This general attitude and outlook on my behalf actually mostly derives more from sheer pride than from any sort of assumed moral superiority - I simply can't sleep at night if I think that I applied or relied on anything other than my own merit to achieve something, and deceptive/slick tactics make me feel as though I cheated because I was unable to do it the hard way . . . that kind of thing.
I will close by conceding that I may be wrong about this, however, I might also just end up identifying more user needs in a highly accurate manner with my approach, which is conducive to even greater profits.
