Using Customer Journey Insights To Drive Innovation

Your research findings are useless if they don't drive decisions. After watching countless brilliant insights disappear into the void, I developed 5 practical templates I use to transform research into action: 1. Decision-Driven Journey Map Standard journey maps look nice but often collect dust. My Decision-Driven Journey Map directly connects user pain points to specific product decisions with clear ownership. Key components: - User journey stages with actions - Pain points with severity ratings (1-5) - Required product decisions for each pain - Decision owner assignment - Implementation timeline This structure creates immediate accountability and turns abstract user problems into concrete action items. 2. Stakeholder Belief Audit Workshop Many product decisions happen based on untested assumptions. This workshop template helps you document and systematically test stakeholder beliefs about users. The four-step process: - Document stakeholder beliefs + confidence level - Prioritize which beliefs to test (impact vs. confidence) - Select appropriate testing methods - Create an action plan with owners and timelines When stakeholders participate in this process, they're far more likely to act on the results. 3. Insight-Action Workshop Guide Research without decisions is just expensive trivia. This workshop template provides a structured 90-minute framework to turn insights into product decisions. Workshop flow: - Research recap (15min) - Insight mapping (15min) - Decision matrix (15min) - Action planning (30min) - Wrap-up and commitments (15min) The decision matrix helps prioritize actions based on user value and implementation effort, ensuring resources are allocated effectively. 4. Five-Minute Video Insights Stakeholders rarely read full research reports. These bite-sized video templates drive decisions better than documents by making insights impossible to ignore. Video structure: - 30 sec: Key finding - 3 min: Supporting user clips - 1 min: Implications - 30 sec: Recommended next steps Pro tip: Create a library of these videos organized by product area for easy reference during planning sessions. 5. Progressive Disclosure Testing Protocol Standard usability testing tries to cover too much. This protocol focuses on how users process information over time to reveal deeper UX issues. Testing phases: - First 5-second impression - Initial scanning behavior - First meaningful action - Information discovery pattern - Task completion approach This approach reveals how users actually build mental models of your product, leading to more impactful interface decisions. Stop letting your hard-earned research insights collect dust. I’m dropping the first 3 templates below, & I’d love to hear which decision-making hurdle is currently blocking your research from making an impact! (The data in the templates is just an example, let me know in the comments or message me if you’d like the blank versions).

What if we reimagined the Double Diamond through the lens of Jobs-to-be-Done? 🤔 Product Management is about mastering various methodologies and knowing when to apply them. No single framework fits all scenarios - the key is understanding how different approaches can complement each other to drive better outcomes. I have been learning and practicing the art and science of Innovation through the concepts of JTBD, Human Centered Design, Design Thinking, Customer Driven Innovation, Continuous Discovery, Product Discovery, Lean, etc., I've found these methodologies aren't just related, they're deeply interconnected pieces of the same puzzle. I took the classic double diamond design thinking framework and applied JTBD to it and here is how it looks in my view. While the double diamond model divides the journey into Problem → Solution spaces, the evolved version speaks the language of jobs and outcomes 💎Left Diamond: Transformed from problem-finding to "Jobs & Outcomes" - focusing on understanding what customers are trying to achieve in their contexts. 🌉The Bridge: "Opportunity Statements" replace "Problem Definition" - shifting from fixing issues to unlocking potential. Opportunity Statements are what Tony Ulwick calls "Hidden Growth Opportunities". These statements guide our innovation direction. 💎Right Diamond: Maintains the Design/Develop and Iterate/Deliver phases, but shifts validation focus to measuring how effectively we enable customers to achieve their desired outcomes. This framework moves beyond problem-solution thinking to create value through deep understanding of customer progress and success metrics in the form of jobs and outcomes. Have you integrated different innovation frameworks in your work? What have you learned? Would love to hear your experiences! #innovation #JTBD #designthinking #productdiscovery

Transforming Global Capability Center into World-Class Product Development Center: The Power of Customer Empathy Building a high-performing Global Capability Center (GCC) isn’t just about hiring great talent—it’s about instilling a customer-first mindset and creating a culture of ownership, innovation, and purpose. At Intuit, we turned our GCC into a product innovation powerhouse by embedding customer awareness and empathy into everything we did. Here’s how we bridged the gap between remote teams and real users: 1. Customer Connections Every U.S. visit wasn’t just about meetings. Team members were tasked with meeting real customers, learning their challenges, and sharing their insights with the team back home. These stories ignited empathy and shaped the way we built solutions. 2. Customer Booths in the Office We brought the customer voice directly into the GCC. A customer listening booth allowed employees to hear real call center conversations, making customer challenges tangible and actionable. 3. Purpose-Driven Innovation Our hackathons focused on real customer pain points. Teams picked specific problems and designed impactful solutions, driving a culture of customer-focused creativity. These kinds of initiatives complemented with a clear OKR framework that keeps the focus on outcomes can help you transform a GCC: Objective: Build a GCC that deeply understands customers and solves real-world problems. • Key Result 1: Facilitate N+ direct customer interactions annually for GCC team members. • Key Result 2: Identify and solve 10 top customer pain points through innovation initiatives with delightful solutions. • Key Result 3: Increase customer satisfaction (CSAT) for GCC-developed solutions by 25%. The result? A GCC that doesn’t just support product development—it leads the way, creating impactful, customer-centered solutions that matter. Takeaway: A truly customer-centric GCC doesn’t just deliver—it empathizes, innovates, and takes ownership. When you empower, educate and energize remote teams with customer insights and purpose, you transform outcomes and create products that delight. How are you driving customer awareness and innovation in your GCC? Zinnov Amita Goyal Karthik Padmanabhan Mohammed Faraz Khan ieswariya k Komal Shah Hani Mukhey Sagar Kulkarni Veerendra Baligeri Namita Adavi Dipanwita Ghosh Rohit Nair Amaresh N.

"Our biggest competitor just released a product that's blowing us out of the water." A nightmare for product leaders. Market share slips away, and you can’t stop it. How it feels: - Constantly one step behind - Leadership pressure overwhelming - Team morale plummeting - Abilities being questioned - Fear of becoming irrelevant But here's the thing… This isn't the end. It's an opportunity for true innovation. Try this 5 Step Outcome-Driven Innovation Approach: 1. Conduct deep customer interviews using a Jobs-to-be-Done lens: Focus on understanding the customer outcomes, not just their opinion of your competitor's product. 2. Quantify customer outcomes and discover the unmet outcomes: Identify underserved outcomes your competitor might be overlooking. This is your goldmine for innovation. 3. Use Outcome-Based Segmentation: Discover groups of customers with unique sets of unmet outcomes. This could reveal entirely new market opportunities. 4. Develop solutions that directly address the underserved outcomes This ensures your innovation efforts are targeted and effective. 5. Craft messaging that speaks to the targeted outcomes: Messaging that cuts through the noise and speaks directly to customer pain points. The goal isn’t to copy your competitor. It's to solve your customers' problems better than anyone else. Follow this ODI approach. You’ll position yourself to leapfrog the competition entirely. #ProductStrategy #Innovation #MarketLeadership #ODI

As an analyst, I was intrigued to read an article about Instacart's innovative "Ask Instacart" feature integrating chatbots and chatgpt, allowing customers to create and refine shopping lists by asking questions like, 'What is a healthy lunch option for my kids?' Ask Instacart then provides potential options based on user's past buying habits and provides recipes and a shopping list once users have selected the option they want to try! This tool not only provides a personalized shopping experience but also offers a gold mine of customer insights that can inform various aspects of a business strategy. Here's what I inferred as an analyst : 1️⃣ Customer Preferences Uncovered: By analyzing the questions and options selected, we can understand what products, recipes, and meal ideas resonate with different customer segments, enabling better product assortment and personalized marketing. 2️⃣ Personalization Opportunities: The tool leverages past buying habits to make recommendations, presenting opportunities to tailor the shopping experience based on individual preferences. 3️⃣ Trend Identification: Tracking the types of questions and preferences expressed through the tool can help identify emerging trends in areas like healthy eating, dietary restrictions, or cuisine preferences, allowing businesses to stay ahead of the curve. 4️⃣ Shopping List Insights: Analyzing the generated shopping lists can reveal common item combinations, complementary products, and opportunities for bundle deals or cross-selling recommendations. 5️⃣ Recipe and Meal Planning: The tool's integration with recipes and meal planning provides valuable insights into customers' cooking habits, preferred ingredients, and meal types, informing content creation and potential partnerships. The "Ask Instacart" tool is a prime example of how innovative technologies can not only enhance the customer experience but also generate valuable data-driven insights that can drive strategic business decisions. A great way to extract meaningful insights from such data sources and translate them into actionable strategies that create value for customers and businesses alike. Article to refer : https://lnkd.in/gAW4A2db #DataAnalytics #CustomerInsights #Innovation #ECommerce #GroceryRetail