Conducting a survey before understanding the requirements—and without an image of what it is like to be the voter—gets the flawed results we saw in this year’s polls. Diving deeply into the populace enables far more accurate predictions.
Newsletters tagged "Voice of the customer"
Volume 14, #7, November 2016
Understanding the zeitgeist of product development (and the electorate)
Volume 14, #4, June 2016
Applying a lesson from the book “Switch” to product definition
A couple of ideas from the Heath brothers' book "Switch" have implications for product definition and development. In particular, if you want to change the way your company gathers voice of the customer (VOC) data, you often encounter resistance—reluctance to change—among peers and managers. Here's how to combat that resistance.
Volume 14, #3, April 2016
Three essential questions to answer before you dive into VOC
Just as your house sale may fall flat if you don’t replace the ratty carpet before showing it to prospective buyers, or you risk pulling a hamstring if you take off at a sprint before warming up, you can sabotage your VOC success if you don’t do at least a little preparation. Once you can answer three fairly straightforward questions about your market, the customer data you collect will become much more useful for product definition.
Volume 14, #1, January 2016
Identifying customers for VOC work
It’s great to be single-minded in your search for customers to participate in VOC for front-end development work. But first you have to know where to look.
Volume 12, #5, July 2014
An off-label use for tried-and-true VOC techniques
Here are some ideas to apply VOC techniques inside your company, as a tool to get your boss to not only consider your great new idea, but fall in love with—and fund—it.
Volume 12, #4, June 2014
Eight excuses companies make for not exploring customer needs up front
Research into the psychology of excuses hypothesizes that one reason individuals rationalize behavior is to make themselves feel okay. Companies--or the people within them--do the same thing.
Volume 12, #3, April 2014
Why not rely on CRM systems for product input?
Opening the floodgates to let customer comments stream directly to the development team is the equivalent of a restaurant deciding to do without waiters, a maitre d' hotel, and a kitchen manager.
Volume 12, #2, March 2014
Conduct better interviews when you learn to relax, tolerate silence, and be a little pushy
One of the best ways to understand your customers’ lives is by interviewing them.
Unfortunately, the customer interview is one of the most frequently botched methods of obtaining information.
Find out why.
Volume 11, #4, August 2013
When it comes to understanding customers, brevity is overrated
In the right hands, brevity can convey deep meaning—but those of us whose jobs involve getting to know customers need to go deep.
Volume 11, #1, February 2013
Four insights for product developers from the movie business
Filmmaking, as an artistic endeavor, differs in one important way from producing a product. But there are similarities, too, which we explore here.