Techniques For Validating Customer-Centric Innovations

I think about Jeff Bezos's "start with the press release and work backward" approach. Here is a future headline I would like to see: "Surveys are no longer the primary tool for gathering insights." To get there, surveys will have had to evolve into precision instruments used strategically to fill gaps in data. Let's call this the "Adaptive Survey." With adaptive surveys, organizations can target key moments in the customer or employee journey where existing data falls short. Instead of overwhelming consumers and employees with endless, and meaningless, questions, surveys step in only when context is missing or deeper understanding is required. Imagine leveraging your operational data to identify a drop in engagement and deploying an adaptive survey to better understand and pinpoint the "why" behind it. Or, using transactional data to detect unusual purchasing behavior and triggering a quick, personalized survey to uncover motivations. Here's how I hope adaptive surveys will reshape insight/VoC strategies: Targeted Deployment: Adaptive surveys appear at critical decision points or after unique behaviors, ensuring relevance and avoiding redundancy. Data-First Insights: Existing operational, transactional, and behavioral data provide the foundation for understanding experiences. Surveys now act as supplements, not the main course of the meal. Contextual Relevance: Real-time customization ensures questions are tailored to the gaps identified by existing data, enhancing both response quality and user experience. Strategic Focus: Surveys are used to validate hypotheses, explore unexpected behaviors, or uncover latent needs...not to rehash what’s already known. Surveys don't have to be the blunt instrument they are today. They can be a surgical tool for extracting insights that existing data can’t reach. What are your thoughts? #surveys #customerexperience #ai #adaptiveAI #customerfeedback #innovation #technology

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

Assumptions can lead to costly mistakes. My first SaaS company didn't go anywhere. I thought I was so smart, but going after the wrong people + building for wrong people cost me everything. Lots of hours put in, very little output. Most marketers think they know who their ideal customer is, and they think they know them. But until you validate your assumptions, you’re operating on guesswork—and guesswork is expensive. When I launched the first version of Wynter, I targeted copywriters... after all, who cares more about copy than them? Turns out most of them did not want any messaging validation work ("I don't like people judging my work" lol) + they didn't have any money. There was no pain they felt on their end regarding messaging validation. The pain was all in-house, felt by people hiring the copywriters: will this work? What does my ICP really care about? How can we make this copy stronger? My ICP research work had been lackluster, and I paid the stupid tax (six months of wasted efforts). A strong ICP (ideal customer profile) is built on real insights—validated, actionable, and directly tied to your audience’s needs. Avoid my mistakes and continuously refine your ICP: 1. Interview your customers: Talk to recent buyers or lost deals. Learn why they chose—or didn’t choose—your solution. Focus on the specific triggers that drove their decision and the language they use to describe their needs. 2. Survey your target market: Use target market surveys to dig into pain points, priorities, and decision-making processes. If you're in B2B, Wynter will deliver responses in 48 hrs. 3. Analyze sales conversations: Dive into sales call transcripts using tools like Gong or Chorus. Spot patterns in objections, common themes, and recurring questions your prospects raise. 4. Test your messaging: Use tools like Wynter to test key website pages with a vetted audience that matches your ICP. 5. Study competitor positioning: Analyze competitors’ messaging to uncover what they emphasize and where you can stand out. For example, if their messaging focuses on efficiency, can you carve a niche around customer experience and support? 6. Audit internal data: Review internal resources—support tickets, chat logs, and retention data. Who uses you the most, who gets the most value out of you? 7. Create iterative feedback loops: Insights aren’t static. Use tools like Wynter and Gong regularly get a pulse on your ICPs changing needs and perceptions. Building a strong ICP isn’t about guessing; it’s about listening—through tools, conversations, and data. The payoff? Better targeting, clearer messaging, and avoid paying the stupid tax.

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

Continuous research and iterative design benefit leaders who want to build team momentum. Building momentum with other stakeholders is challenging when working with large teams. Getting everyone aligned can be tough, but consistent delivery and user-informed decisions make it much easier. It’s one of the hardest parts of design. Here’s how we overcome this difficulty. We run weekly design cycles that build on what we learned the previous week. We use Helio to test and gather insights from a large, targeted audience. Here are the areas to structure in your process: → Start with a KPI Continuous research helps leaders set relevant and realistic KPIs by understanding market trends, customer needs, and competitors. This ensures that KPIs match business goals and can be used to frame leading metrics in the design process. → Create a Hunch Ongoing research helps leaders validate their initial ideas, reducing the risk of following unproven concepts. Iterative feedback sparks new and creative solutions based on real-world data. → Develop 3-5 Concepts Research-driven insights help leaders create concepts that appeal to target audiences. By testing and refining these concepts, leaders can focus resources on the best ideas, reducing waste and time. These concepts could be focused on one area or multiple concepts across the experience. → Refine Iterations Iterative design uses user feedback and user experience data to make each version more impactful. Continuous research helps spot potential issues early, allowing for timely adjustments and reducing the risk of major setbacks. → Release Concepts Iterative testing ensures that the final product is thoroughly checked and ready for the market, boosting its chances of success. By continuously using customer feedback, the final product will more likely meet customers' needs, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty. Continuous research and iterative design can provide leaders with a structured approach to innovation. They ensure that each step is informed by data and user insights, ultimately leading to more successful and impactful products. I’m happy to share more of our experiences with leaders. #productdesign #productdiscovery #userresearch #uxresearch

Customer interviews make or break products—but most of us are doing them completely wrong. Some obsess over customer problems. Others seek validation of their ideas. Which camp are you in? 👀 When you're pioneering a new space at the intersection of precision medicine and AI, there's no playbook to follow. You're writing the rules as you go. Early in our journey, I proudly showcased our multimodal data platform connecting clinical data, DNA, RNA, images and outcomes—only to face polite nods and zero urgency. Our sophisticated data integration wasn't what customers were actively seeking. In fact, many didn't even know they needed it. The breakthrough came when we stopped talking about our technology and started obsessing over their fundamental challenges. So what problems did drug developers actually face? They weren't looking for fancy technology—they were hoping to build disease models to identify patient subgroups that would respond to their therapies. But our true AHA moment started by asking this key question: "How are you solving this challenge today?" My latest blog post highlights a key mistake I’ve made and introduces a framework for radically improving your customer interviews: 1. Map Current Reality 2. Identify Friction Points 3. Quantify Value Gap 4. Test Specific Use Cases Our business transformed when I stopped talking and started listening—really listening—to the day-to-day challenges facing drug development teams. What we discovered fundamentally changed our approach... If you're pioneering something new in your industry, which customer discovery methods have worked for you? ♻️ Repost if this framework could be helpful to others. #PrecisionMedicine #CustomerDiscovery #ProductDevelopment #StartupLessons