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Purpose
The reduction in technology costs over the last few years have empowered
many aspiring entrepreneurs to develop a new product or service distributed
through web and mobile channels in record time. What once took many
months to develop can now be ready for launch in just a few weeks. Despite
all of this, and perhaps partly because of it, many aspiring entrepreneurs are
quick to forget the value of actually talking to potential customers before
building their own great idea and forego the incredible amount of insight
they can gain from doing so. Engagement with real potential customers is of
fundamental importance in the first phase of Steve Blanks Customer
Development methodology, called Customer Discovery.
Customer Discovery simply begins with seeking to gain empathy -- that is,
developing a deep understanding of a customers needs and motivations.
Program Overview
This program will take an actionable approach to teaching the best practices
of the first phase of conducting customer discovery -- which is
testing a problem and assessing its importance -- through active
learning. This program takes the theory of customer discovery and breaks it
up into digestible chunks that any aspiring entrepreneur can apply.
Teaching Methodology
This program is very actionable. Through collaborative group activities, and
keeping a focus on developing relevant and practical deliverables, individuals
build the skills necessary for future attempts at customer discovery. For all
intensive purposes, we assume that the opportunity is large enough for the
participant to warrant further discovery.
Job
Next, use the Customer/Job POV Mad Lib example below to generate a set of
assumptions about the jobs your customer segment personas are trying to
get done. This can be the tasks they are trying to perform and complete, the
problems they are trying to solve, and the needs they are trying to fill.
{}
is trying
because
Gains
Now, use the Customer/Gain POV Mad Lib example below to generate a set
of assumptions about the benefits your customer expects, desires or would
be surprised by. This includes functional utility, social gains, positive
emotions, and cost savings.
{}
feels
because
{}
wants/needs
because
Pains
Lastly, use the Customer/Gain POV Mad Lib example below to generate a set
of assumptions about the negative emotions, undesired costs and situations,
and risks that your customer experiences or could experience before, during,
and after getting their
jobs done.
{}
feels
because
{}
wants/needs
because
Module: Developing Value Proposition Assumptions
{}
create
{}
eliminate
=
How to DEFINE EXPERIMENTS
Before you begin your customer discovery journey you need to begin
identifying who you should start speaking with to validate or invalidate the
set up assumptions you have generated. You may initially begin broad, then
hone in on specific customer segment personas over time as you collect
more anecdotal evidence. Below are a few methods you can use to target an
initial batch of people to talk with.
Before you meet anyone for any interview, you need to take the time and get
prepared. Below are a few actions you should spend time on before speaking
with anyone - people value their time, so dont waste it.
Do and Dont
Existing Markets
When operating in an existing market and the problem is well understood,
you can use a Problem Presentation .... resegmentation ....
The first step is to describe your assumed list of problems, pause and ask the
customers what they think the problems are, whether you're missing any
problems, how they would rank the problems, and which are must-solve
rather than nice-to-solve. You've hit the jackpot when the customer tells you
she will do anything to solve the problem.
Unknown Markets
Alternatively, if you are operating in a new market or working with a
disruptive technology, Customer Discovery is not about conducting a focus
group. Simply asking customers Tell me, what is your biggest pain point?
Or, What do you think of this solution? is not Customer Discovery. This is a
big idea and important to understand, because people dont always
understand their own problems. You are looking for specific stories about
their day to day experiences that can surface insight about their true needs
and motivations and how their life will be different once they begin using
your product or service.
Then, you have to really listen and become tuned-in for customer doorways
to probe further into. Customer doorways can be a bold statement the
person makes, an inconsistency between what they say or do, silence, or
sudden, animated gestures. When you notice one of these actions, go
through that customer doorway and probe further by asking how and why.
Essentially playing completely naive can surface some great insight about
whether or not you think this person will turn into a real customer.
Quotes/Defining Words
Thoughts & Beliefs
Actions & Behaviors
Feelings & Emotions
Pattern Recognition
What was the most memorable and interesting story?
What did the person care about the most? What motivates him
or her?
What were they frustrated by the most?
Module: Developing a Problem Recognition Matix
Module: Developing a Pattern Recognition Matrix
Determining the problem types can be difficult, and you might be tempted to
overstate a problem to validate your own desired solution. Ask yourself the
following questions to determine which problem type the customer actually
experiences.
A problem recognition matrix is a great tool that can help you quantify
Customer Types
Customer analysis starts with understanding for what types of customer to
approach. Chances are that several people in a number of categories have
problems that your product can solve.
End Users
Influencers
Recommenders
Economic Buyers
Decision Makers
Saboteurs
Problem Types
Latent
Passive
Active/Urgent
Vision of a Solution
Latent Problem/Need
Passive Problem/Need X
Active/Urgent
Problem/Need
Vision of a Solution
Module: Create an Aggregate Customer Discovery Scorecard
The customer discovery scorecard is an aggregate of all customer interviews
conducted and provides a sense of whether theres enough customer
excitement to warrant further motion. Additionally, it can help you spot trend
and recognize patterns.
The analysis should help gauge whether the right people were contacted and
whether enough earlyvangelists candidates were identified.
Excited and Urgent Need
Business-Impact
Work-around
120 day
Key Decider
Module: Developing a Low Fidelity MVP
Viability Experiments
Wizard of Oz
PPC
Concierge Tests
NOTES
Include an empathy map template for mapping out the customer archetype
POV statements
HMW
+ = Product