Techniques For Understanding Consumer Expectations

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

Track customer UX metrics during design to improve business results. Relying only on analytics to guide your design decisions is a missed opportunity to truly understand your customers. Analytics only show what customers did, not why they did it. Tracking customer interactions throughout the product lifecycle helps businesses measure and understand how customers engage with their products before and after launch. The goal is to ensure the design meets customer needs and achieves desired outcomes before building. By dividing the process into three key stages—customer understanding (attitudinal metrics), customer behavior (behavioral metrics), and customer activity (performance metrics)—you get a clearer picture of customer needs and how your design addresses them. → Customer Understanding In the pre-market phase, gathering insights about how well customers get your product’s value guides your design decisions. Attitudinal metrics collected through surveys or interviews help gauge preferences, needs, and expectations. The goal is to understand how potential customers feel about the product concept. → Customer Behavior Tracking how customers interact with prototype screens or products shows whether the design is effective. Behavioral metrics like click-through rates and session times provide insights into how users engage with the design. This phase bridges the pre-market and post-market stages and helps identify any friction points in the design. →  Customer Activity After launch, post-market performance metrics like task completion and error rates measure how customers use the product in real-world scenarios. These insights help determine if the product meets its goals and how well it supports user needs. Designers should take a data-informed approach by collecting and analyzing data at each stage to make sure the product continues evolving to meet customer needs and business goals. #productdesign #productdiscovery #userresearch #uxresearch

I often say: Focus on psychographics (values, interests) Over demographics (age, gender, income) The tough part? Gathering psychographics (without being creepy or invasive.) It's easier to rely on demographics. They're: - painless to gather - straightforward - easy to analyze - quantifiable But it's a mistake to depend on them. A costly one. They're a weak data point. The role they play in purchase decisions? Smaller than many marketers think. Psychographics are much more useful. And easier to collect than you think. Here's how I do it: 👉 Customer surveys Ask direct questions about values, interests, and the purchase process. 👉 Social listening Analyze what your audience is saying in comments, reviews, and posts. Look for patterns in their language, pain points, and values. 👉 Website behavior Track which pages customers visit, what content they engage with, and how they navigate your site. 👉 Customer interviews Understand the customer buying process — from the first moment a customer noticed a problem in their life through purchasing your product (and ideally your product solving their problem). 👉 Community engagement Host webinars, engage in online groups, read and respond to customer comments. Learn your target market's pain points and how they phrase those pain points. 👉 Analyze reviews and testimonials Look for recurring themes in what people say about your product — or your competitors'. Psychographics give you: - customer behavior insights - voice-of-customer data - value props - pain points It's priceless info. Use it to hone your messaging, offers, marketing, design, and product. #marketing #customerinsights #strategy

What sets you apart from ALL the other products in your category?? It’s more than just your product. It’s about understanding your customer better than anyone else. With Enavi’s Customer Canvas, we don’t rely on assumptions.  We help you build detailed, human-first insights into: → What truly motivates your customers: Are they driven by convenience, prestige, or solving a problem? → What’s causing friction in their decision-making process: Is it confusion around pricing, uncertainty about product benefits, or trust issues with your brand? → How to create a seamless customer journey across every touchpoint: Are there gaps in their journey? Do they struggle with navigation, or lose momentum before checkout? We’re driving improvements across your entire business — from marketing to product development. How? We’re not just tracking clicks. We’re uncovering their motivations. Understanding their pain points. Delivering insights that transform every aspect of your marketing strategy. Not just your on-site experience. Be honest… do you REALLY know: — Motivations: What brings customers to your store?  Is it emotional, practical, or social factors that drive them? — Anxieties: Where are they getting frustrated or confused?  Why do they hesitate before making a purchase? — Behavioural Triggers: What’s the final nudge that pushes them to buy?  Is it a discount, a sense of urgency, or something else entirely? My guess is no. To gather this depth of insight, we use qualitative research tools like: 1. Post-Purchase surveys: Asking questions like: “What made you choose this product?” “What almost made you leave without purchasing?” 2. Customer interviews: Delving into their decision-making process with open-ended questions like: “When did you realise you needed this product?” “What would make you feel 100% confident in your purchase?” 3. Review mining: We analyse what customers are already saying, the praises and complaints. We use these to identify recurring themes in their desires and frustrations. 4. Support ticket analysis: We look at common complaints and issues that arise in customer support.  These often reveal hidden blockers in the customer journey that might not be obvious from the data alone. 5. Competitor benchmarking: What are your competitors doing right or wrong? And how can we leverage that insight to give you a competitive edge? And here’s what makes this approach so powerful: the Customer Canvas is not a static report. It’s a living, breathing document that evolves as your business — and your customers — change. Every update, every new product launch, every marketing campaign feeds into this evolving understanding of who your customers are and how best to serve them. Now, ask yourself: Are your current CRO tactics producing the real results you deserve? If not, it’s time to try something different. The Enavi Human Obsessed CRO is your answer.