Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Understanding customers is a fundamental activity of professional Product Management. There are many ways of gathering research that will help develop this understanding and this "Briefly Explained" presentation provides context to the What, Why and When of these different methods.
Citation preview
Customer Research Explained
“Supposing is good.
Finding out is better.”
Mark Twain
Customer research helps us:
1. Understand what problems customers want solved
Customer research data enables us to:
2. Analyse how important these problems are to customers
Customer research helps us determine:
3. How much customers might pay for a solution to their problem
Having customer research means we can decide:
4. What products and features to develop
Having customer research means we have:
5. Rich anecdotes that bring the product idea to life!
Without research, we make decisions in a bubble … far away
from reality
Research SHOULD BE an ongoing
activity
So What Research Can We Do?
The mix of research we undertake depends on the question(s) that we want
answered..
… and the stage of the Product Delivery process that
we need answers for.
1. Will the idea solve a lucrative
customer problem?
The question we want answered at the Innovate phase …
Ideate
• Past Research Review previous research data that may have been commissioned for other projects.
Both Quantitative & Qualitative,Secondary Research Source
• Cultural Probe Exploratory method using various tools (postcards, journey maps, cameras, journals) to understand personal context and circumstance.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
Explore
• Literature Review Review of any relevant journals, articles periodicals that might provide insights about customer trends and behaviour.
Qualitative, Secondary Research Source
• Ethnographic Study Immersion in the customer’s natural environment to observe, document social life & make interpretations about its meaning.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
• Focus Groups An interactive group session where target customers are asked about their opinions, beliefs and attitudes about a topic or idea.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
• Competitor Analysis Technically not customer research but much can be gleaned from understanding what resonates with customers from competitor products.
Qualitative, Secondary Research Source
Focus
• Online Questionnaires A list of written questions that can be both close ended or open ended. A range of methods can be used to design the questionnaire such as choice modelling.
Both Quantitative & Qualitative,Primary Research Source
We answer the question by doing this type of customer research …
Bella & Hanington, Universal Methods of Design, 2112 | Ladner, Practical Ethnography, 2012
2. Who are these customers and what product features do
they consider desirable?
The question we want answered at the Design phase …
Immerse
• One on One Face / Telephone Interviews
One on one structure or unstructured interviews to understand the customer’s perception about a topic of idea or more information about their personal circumstances.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
• Contextual Inquiry A semi-structured interview method to obtain information about the context of use, where customers are first asked a set of standard questions and then observed and questioned while they interact in their own environments. .
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
• Diary Studies An artefact that enables customers to capture thoughts and actions about their life. Combination of audio, photos, text, video.
Qualitative, Secondary Research Source
Design
• Card Sorting A technique that enables researches to understand how customers categorise content, information.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
• Kano Analysis Method for classifying customer needs and determining what features to add or subtract.
Both Qualitative & Quantitative, Primary Research Source
• Eyetracking Tracks the eye movement of customers who are looking at a product or interface to determine what customers are looking at or ignoring.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
We answer the question by doing this type of customer research …
Usability Body of Knowledge, www.usabilitybok.org
3. Can the customer use the product?
4. What messages
resonate with buyers?
The questions we want answered at the Implement phase …
Build
• Usability Testing Method for determining the usability of a product with the target market to ensure that customers can complete certain tasks and use the product as intended.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
Prepare
• A/B Testing Method for testing 2 versions of the message (call to action, value proposition, promotional offer etc) to determine which message the target customer group prefers.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
• Brand Surveys A technique for assessing the appeal of the brand and if the product aligns with the brand promise.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
We answer the questions by doing this type of customer research …
Paras Chopra, The Ultimate Guide to AB Testing, http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/06/24/the-ultimate-guide-to-a-b-testing/
5. Why did the customer buy or
not buy the product?
The questions we want answered during the day to day …
Day to Day Product Management
• Win/Loss Analysis A formal, data driven program to gather feedback from customers and lost prospects to understand the problems or attractiveness of the sales process and the products being sold.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
• Analytics Technically not customer research but it does enable the business to understand customer activity and patterns to improve product performance. Powerful when combined with qualitative research.
Quantitative, Primary Research Source
• Surveys A face to face or telephone method for collecting information from customers.
Bella & Hanington (p172) describe various methods:
• Closed – forced choice
• Open – broad with no set response
• General – view on big picture
• Specific – focused on details
• Comparative – asks for judgement on 2 or more alternatives
• Hypothetical – asks to speculate about behaviour or actions
• Requests for suggestions – new ideas, opinions
Survey conducted online is known as a questionnaire
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
We answer the questions by doing this type of customer research …
Bella & Hanington, Universal Methods of Design, 2112 | Ladner, Practical Ethnography, 2012
So Who Is Doing What Research?
Is it …
User Experience
Product Management
Marketing
Brand
Sometimes it seems everyone(!) in the company is
doing customer research
And so they should…
… because a single research project cannot provide the
answers to all questions for everyone
Each team (UX, Marketing, Product & Brand) has a different lens when conducting research
UX wants to understand the user, user tasks, behaviours, goals and the environment …
28
Learning What People Do
Learning How Many People Will Pay & How Much?
Learning What People Think, Say & Feel
Learning About Problems To Be Solved
UX
QuantitativeQualitative
Att
itudi
nal
Beh
avio
ural
The foundation of this matrix was developed by Christian Rohrer, When to Use Which User Experience Research Methods, Nielsen Norman Group, 2008
…so that they may create a delightful experience
Product conducts research to uncover market
opportunities or to test hypotheses …
31
Learning What People Do
Learning How Many People Will Pay & How Much?
Learning What People Say & Feel
Learning About Problems To Be Solved PRODUCT
QuantitativeQualitative
Att
itudi
nal
Beh
avio
ural
The foundation of this matrix was developed by Christian Rohrer, When to Use Which User Experience Research Methods, Nielsen Norman Group, 2008
…so that they may determine if the idea is valuable and is lucrative for the business
Marketing undertakes research to understand what
buying reasons appeal to buyers …
34
Learning What People Do
Learning How Many People Will Pay & How Much?
Learning What People Think, Say & Feel
Learning About Problems To Be Solved
MARKETING
QuantitativeQualitative
Att
itudi
nal
Beh
avio
ural
The foundation of this matrix was developed by Christian Rohrer, When to Use Which User Experience Research Methods, Nielsen Norman Group, 2008
…so that they can drive
demand and increase sales
Brand tests customer sentiment to understand if the
brand resonates with customers …
37
Learning What People Do
Learning How Many People Will Pay & How Much?
Learning What People Think, Say & Feel
Learning About Problems To Be Solved
BRAND
QuantitativeQualitative
Att
itudi
nal
Beh
avio
ural
The foundation of this matrix was developed by Christian Rohrer, When to Use Which User Experience Research Methods, Nielsen Norman Group, 2008
…so that they may fulfil the brand
promise and grow customer loyalty
Together….
40
Learning What People Do
Learning How Many People Will Pay & How Much?
Learning What People Think, Say & Feel
Learning About Problems To Be Solved
BRAND
QuantitativeQualitative
Att
itudi
nal
Beh
avio
ural
The foundation of this matrix was developed by Christian Rohrer, When to Use Which User Experience Research Methods, Nielsen Norman Group, 2008
MARKETING
PRODUCT
UX
…. we provide richer insights and analysis to better understand the customer
So How Do We Start?
Step 1:
Establish where you’re at in the Product Delivery process.
Step 2:
Most importantly, determine the question you want answered?
Step 3:
Is there any previous research material that can help answer the question?
Step 4:
If no, select a research method or a mix of methods that will provide you with the answer you need.
Go on… kick off your research!
48
Connect with Brainmates
Brainmates Group @Brainmates#prodmgmt
Facebook.com/Brainmates
www.brainmates.com.au [email protected] + 61 2 9923 8147
