How to Evaluate Customer Needs for Products

While it can be easily believed that customers are the ultimate experts about their own needs, there are ways to gain insights and knowledge that customers may not be aware of or able to articulate directly. While customers are the ultimate source of truth about their needs, product managers can complement this knowledge by employing a combination of research, data analysis, and empathetic understanding to gain a more comprehensive understanding of customer needs and expectations. The goal is not to know more than customers but to use various tools and methods to gain insights that can lead to building better products and delivering exceptional user experiences. ➡️ User Research: Conducting thorough user research, such as interviews, surveys, and observational studies, can reveal underlying needs and pain points that customers may not have fully recognized or articulated. By learning from many users, we gain holistic insights and deeper insights into their motivations and behaviors. ➡️ Data Analysis: Analyzing user data, including behavioral data and usage patterns, can provide valuable insights into customer preferences and pain points. By identifying trends and patterns in the data, product managers can make informed decisions about what features or improvements are most likely to address customer needs effectively. ➡️ Contextual Inquiry: Observing customers in their real-life environment while using the product can uncover valuable insights into their needs and challenges. Contextual inquiry helps product managers understand the context in which customers use the product and how it fits into their daily lives. ➡️ Competitor Analysis: By studying competitors and their products, product managers can identify gaps in the market and potential unmet needs that customers may not even be aware of. Understanding what competitors offer can inspire product improvements and innovation. ➡️ Surfacing Implicit Needs: Sometimes, customers may not be able to express their needs explicitly, but through careful analysis and empathetic understanding, product managers can infer these implicit needs. This requires the ability to interpret feedback, observe behaviors, and understand the context in which customers use the product. ➡️ Iterative Prototyping and Testing: Continuously iterating and testing product prototypes with users allows product managers to gather feedback and refine the product based on real-world usage. Through this iterative process, product managers can uncover deeper customer needs and iteratively improve the product to meet those needs effectively. ➡️ Expertise in the Domain: Product managers, industry thought leaders, academic researchers, and others with deep domain knowledge and expertise can anticipate customer needs based on industry trends, best practices, and a comprehensive understanding of the market. #productinnovation #discovery #productmanagement #productleadership

When brands work on their offerings they often take an inside-out approach. (1) Figure out the offering (2) Assess the competition  (3) Try to retrofit it into something customers want And then have long discussions about why folks aren’t buying…. When we work on positioning it’s the opposite: (1) Understand your customer’s needs (2) Assess the solutions they might consider (3) Find the areas of the offering that satisfy those needs and create separation from competitors When everything you do depends on creating alignment with your customers it makes sense to put it at the front of the line. It’s tricky though to know who the ideal target customer is. It’s about finding the best possible fit between their needs and your solution. To help with that you can use this simple rubric of questions (the “core need” here refers to the brand’s primary focus area): ⦿ Pain Intensity How much of a blocker is the core need for the target customer’s critical work functions if it isn’t resolved? ⦿ Pain Frequency How often does this core need repeat itself for the target customer over the span of a typical month / quarter?  ⦿ Value Alignment How well does the target customer’s core need align with the most valuable aspects of the brand’s offering? ⦿ Solution Awareness How much familiarity and depth of knowledge does the target customer have with possible solutions?  Score each one on a level of 1 to 3 and then add them up. The higher the score the better the alignment between the customer and the brand. (See the graphic for more details) Whether you’re debating between potential segments to focus on or just trying to find one that works, this gives you a way to tease apart the qualities you want to consider. This is key for getting in a customer-first mindset. And it’s absolutely essential for creating positioning that customers actually understand and remember.

Your competition is stealing your customers right now because they understand one thing you don't. Understanding your customers fully = building products people actually want to use. That's the goal. To get there, you can either: - Rely on your gut instinct and assumptions. - Actually learn what your customers need, think, and want. Just carry out these daily tasks: 1. Talk to your customers directly -  ↳ Give them easy ways to provide feedback through uninstall surveys, reviews, or customer support channels.  ↳ Reach out to power users and start conversations. Many customers actively want to help improve your product. 2. Make feedback frictionless -  ↳ Customers won't go out of their way to give feedback, so reduce friction with quick surveys after key interactions, in-app prompts for feature requests, open-ended responses in support tickets, and direct access to a real person. 3. Observe how customers actually use your product -  ↳ Data tells a different story than surveys.  ↳ Use analytics to see what features people use most, where they drop off during onboarding, and what actions lead to churn vs. retention. 4. Test and iterate based on customer input -  ↳ When feedback patterns emerge, act on them.  ↳ If feature requests keep coming up, prioritize them.  ↳ If customers are confused about a function, improve the UX. 5. Build relationships with your best customers -  ↳ Your most engaged users can become your best resource.  ↳ Keep in touch with them, get their input on new features, and make them feel heard. I had a user who loved our product so much that they actively shared feedback and even tested features before launch. They'll hop on a Zoom call with just 15 minutes notice. Now all you have to do is commit to customer research, and you'll build products people actually want to use. As you progress, incorporate: - Regular customer interviews - User testing sessions - Data analysis routines It's more effective than building in isolation based on assumptions. ♻️ Repost if you agree ➕ Follow me Blaine Vess for more

I'd like to discuss using Customer Feedback for more focused product iteration. One of the most direct ways to understand customers needs and desires is through feedback. Leveraging tools like surveys, user testing, and even social media can offer invaluable insights. But don't underestimate the power of simple direct communication – be it through emails, chats, or interviews. However, while gathering feedback is essential, ensuring its quality is even more crucial. Start by setting clear feedback objectives and favor open-ended questions that allow for comprehensive answers. It's also pivotal to ensure a diversity in your feedback sources to avoid any inherent biases. But here's a caveat – not all feedback will be relevant to every customer. That's why it's essential to segment the feedback, identify common themes, and use statistical methods to validate its wider applicability. Once you've sorted and prioritised the feedback, the next step is actioning it. This involves cross-functional collaboration, translating feedback into product requirements, and setting milestones for implementation. Lastly, once changes are implemented, the cycle doesn't end. Use methods like A/B testing to gauge the direct impact of the changes. And always, always return to your customers for follow-up feedback to ensure you're on the right track. In the bustling world of tech startups, startups that listen, iterate, and refine based on customer feedback truly thrive. #startups #entrepreneurship #customer #pmf #product

We surveyed 1,244 product teams over the last 6 months and uncovered a reality that blew our minds: While all product teams are trying to create products that better satisfy customer needs, over 80% of product teams do not agree on what a customer "need" even is! Teams define "needs" as exciters and delight-ers, pains and gains, specifications and requirements, features, value drivers, wants and benefits, wishes, aspirations... ...and the list goes on, as if any of these inputs will correctly inform the innovation process. Here's the problem: THEY DON'T! Just like any process, only precise inputs lead to a great result. So what is the right input? We know that people buy products and services to get a "job" done. So, let's start by defining customer "needs" as the metrics customers use to measure success when getting a job done. If we know how customers measure success, we can create solutions that help them get their jobs done better--and win in the marketplace. These metrics, which we call the customer's desired outcomes, are tied to the customer's job-to-be-done and are unique in many ways. They are: - measurable and controllable, - actionable, - unambiguous, - solution independent and, - stable over time. When listening to music, for example, a music enthusiast may want to: “minimize the time it takes to get the songs in the desired order for listening.” This is one of many outcomes associated with the job of listening to music. Using these customer inputs as customer need statements, you're able to: 1. Understand how your customer measures success. 2. Measure how well your solutions get the job done. 3. Give your team clear instructions on how to improve your solutions. Watch your team transform when they're aligned with the metrics your customers use to measure success. #CustomerNeeds #InnovationProcess