The ridiculously-prolific author Nora Roberts said “if you don't ask, the answer is always no”.

In the world of marketing it's probably more accurate to say “if you don't ask, you'll never know”.

Usually, we don't ask, of course.

We cling to one of two convenient lies.

Either that we already know what people want.

Or that people don't know what they want.

(Don't get me started on the misuse of Steve Jobs' smoke and mirrors quote about not using market research).

If you can find a way of asking people about their problems and challenges I've found that the answers are always useful.

A simple example from my business recently is when people sign up to get a pdf copy of my Ultimate Guide to Creating an Online Course.

After signing up I send an email with a link to download the pdf, but also ask them to hit reply to tell me what their biggest challenge or problem is with creating online courses – or what they'd like me to cover in upcoming content.

And to make sure I get a decent number of replies I promise to send a link to some training videos I developed on creating sales pages for online courses.

And surprise, surprise, despite the fact I was convinced I knew what people wanted from Course Builders TV, I found a ton of new stuff being suggested.

Frankly, enough for me to create a year's worth of content.

If I'd not asked, then right now I wouldn't know and I'd be stuck in the usual loop of “what on earth am I going to write about?”.

Instead, my only problem is having too much.

Any time you can create an opportunity for people to tell you what they want from you, ask.