Skip to main content

Customer Hypotheses

This crucial exploration sets the stage for innovation by mapping out who will benefit from the new developments and the specific challenges they face. This understanding is at the heart of both product design and service delivery.

Types Of Customers​

Recognizing the diversity of customers provides vital clues to developing offerings that cater to different needs and decision drivers. It is essential to define clearly how various groups will interact with and benefit from the offering.

  1. Who are the end-users and how do their needs differ from those of the buyers or decision-makers?
  2. What specific problems do influencers, recommenders, and decision-makers seek to solve with your offering?
  3. Are there groups, like support staff or partners, who interact with it differently?
  4. In what ways do economic buyers assess the value of your offering compared to daily users?
  5. How do the priorities and challenges vary among different customer groups?
  6. Are there individuals who could resist or impede the adoption process?
  7. What data or assistance does each group need to make an informed choice?
  8. How might variables like industry trends or locale impact customer needs and behaviors?

Customer Problems​

Identifying customer challenges is key to delivering meaningful value. It includes evaluating the tangible and latent difficulties they confront, which informs the urgency and focus of the response.

Latent Need​

These are the challenges that customers may not fully recognize or deem important yet. Such unrecognized needs can represent untapped opportunities, ripe for innovative offerings.

  1. What workarounds are currently being used by customers that might signal an underlying challenge?
  2. What recurring pain points or frustrations hint at deeper issues?
  3. Are there industry shifts or emerging technologies indicating new customer needs?
  4. What prevailing customer assumptions about their current offerings could be addressed or improved upon?
  5. What advancing technologies might unveil needs that are not on customers' radar?

Active Need​

Here, focus on the pain points customers are acutely aware of and urgently need to address. Defining these helps to prioritize and tailor offerings that fulfill their immediate requirements.

  1. How are customers trying to address their needs, and what alternatives are they considering?
  2. What is the urgency of solving these problems, and what would be the repercussions of no solution?
  3. What efforts or sacrifices are customers prepared to make to find a remedy for their problems?

By addressing these areas, organizations can ensure their products and services are precisely matched to real and perceived customer needs.

A Day In The Life​

Gaining a nuanced view of the customer's everyday environment provides rich insights into how the offerings provided can be integrated into workflows and systems, streamlining their day-to-day operations and supporting their strategic goals.

  1. How do customers' daily activities interface with the product or service?
  2. Are there existing tools or systems that you would need to complement or replace?
  3. How would the adoption alter their typical day, workflows, or system use?

Organizational and Customer Influence Map​

Identifying key stakeholders and the influential web within organizations clarifies who will weigh in on purchasing decisions. Recognizing these relationships is crucial for crafting persuasive communication.

  1. Which individuals have the final say, and how does their influence filter through the organization?
  2. How do you envision a sale unfolding?
  3. What sequence of approvals is needed, and who needs convincing?
  4. Can you spot potential advocates who will champion the value of your offering?
  5. What credible sources might influence their thinking?

ROI (Return On Investment) Justification​

Clearly stating the potential gains from the investment in your offering helps justify its adoption. It's about identifying the benefits whether they are more straightforward, like cost savings, or more intangible, such as reputation enhancement.

  1. What measurable advantages can customers expect from adopting your deliverables?
  2. What is the predicted timeline for realizing these benefits?
  3. How does your offering stack up against others in delivering ROI?

Minimum Feature Set​

Pinpointing the most fundamental aspects necessary to address the identified customer problems without extraneous complexity is essential. This focus helps to prioritize the features or service elements that are most critical at launch.

  1. Which core features or service elements are customers willing to pay for initially?
  2. How does each identified feature or service aspect address the primary customer challenges?
  3. What future enhancements might customers find valuable, and how should they be introduced?

This structured approach to customer and problem hypotheses aligns the development of both products and services with market requirements. It ensures that what's brought to market is both relevant and positioned to effectively meet customer expectations and industry needs.