A few years ago I was invited to run a two-day workshop for a fast-growing technology company. They were about to enter a new market and wanted to make sure everyone on the team was clear about what their vision was and how it was going to be communicated to their customers. The workshop was a success and after we got back to the office, my colleague and I began the real work: writing up the report.

It took us close to a week, but the result was spectacular: 48 color pages peppered with charts, graphs, highlights and recommendations. We printed eight copies of the report, bound them and sent them to each one of the workshop participants.

A month later I received a phone call from the client. They were just about to roll out their marketing campaign and wanted to know whether I remembered a certain idea that one of the team members suggested during the workshop. "Of course," I said, taking out the report we wrote. "It's on page 20 of the report."

After a long silence, the client said "What report?"

They say that the most important lessons are also the most painful. That day I learned an important lesson - give people what they want, not what you think they need. No one asked us to write the report. No one wanted it. We just figured that the client needed it, so we wrote it.

Guessing what your customers need can be a dangerous way to run your business. Why?

First, you'll annoy your customers.
In the mid-80s, executives at the Coca Cola Company became increasingly worried that Pepsi would steal its market share. Radical innovation was believed to be the answer and the company decided to break with its 99-year tradition of keeping Coca Cola's taste the same, and released a “New Coke.” The results were disastrous and after 77 days on the market, New Coke was taken off the shelves and "Classis Coke" was brought back.

Customers love to receive more benefits from our products and services. But when the "benefits" you introduce to the market end up making life more difficult for them, you can cause more damage to your brand than if you hadn't done a thing.

Second, you'll waste money producing something no one cares about.
In 1995, when the airline industry was in a heated battle on who's airplane seats reclined more, a young Greek entrepreneur by the name of Stelios Haji-Ioannou came up with a crazy idea: Why not build an airline that would differentiate itself by NOT offering its customers what other airlines offer. While other airlines offered their passengers free food, EasyJet eliminated on-board catering. While other airlines offered their passengers numerous ways to purchase tickets, EasyJet sold 95% of its tickets online. While other airlines offered their passengers more, EasyJet offered them less (and in exchange, charged them a whole lot less). More than a decade later, EasyJet is one of the leading airlines in the world, prospering at a time when "full-service" airlines are steadily going out of business.

Don't do things just because you think your customers expect them. Reach out and find out for yourself. If they want something they'll tell you. If they don't, why bother offering it in the first place?

Third, you won't discover new ways to grow your business.
Two years ago Vodafone surveyed its customers to find which new features they'd like to see in their next phone. The younger users were looking for phones that could browse the Internet, take pictures and download songs. But when it came to older users, Vodafone received some shocking news. Many of them had no idea what their phone number was, how to turn the phone's volume up or tell when they received a text message. Some people thought that the envelope icon meant that their phone bill had just arrived. "Our biggest customer segment turned round and said: 'You haven't been listening to us,' " said Vodafone's marketing director to the WSJ. "It was an industry for kids." So what did Vodafone do? It launched "Vodafone Simply" - an easy to use phone with less functions and less features. The result was a huge success - 14% of Simply users had never used a mobile before and 50% changed operator thanks to the product.

Just because you have creative thinkers working for your company doesn't mean they need to do all the work. More than often, it's our customers who have the best ideas about which products and services we should develop.

If you and your team are trying to guess what your customers need, you're trying too hard. You're far better off leaving the office and learning what your customers want