I remember having this problem when I first got the “listening to customers” religion. I felt we should just talk to as many customers as possible, and do whatever they say. But that is a bad idea. It confuses the tactic, which is listening, with the strategy, which is learning. Talking to customers is important because it helps us deal in facts about the world as it is today. If we’re going to build a product, we need to have a sense of who will use it. If we’re going to change a feature, we need to know how our existing customers will react. If we’re working on positioning for our product, we need to know what is in the mind of our prospects today.
(via Eric Ries | When NOT to listen to your users; when NOT to rely on split-tests)
When trying to be customer-centric, emphasize the strategy (learning) rather than the tactic (listening to customer feedback).