#4/20 – Start by asking your existing customers
Steve Jobs and Henry Ford famously said they didn’t listen to customers.
But they were hiding a little secret of customer research… 👇
What’s the secret?
“Don’t listen to what they say. Watch what they do.”
I kick off every website project by talking to existing customers.
It can be a couple of 1:1 interviews or a Google survey.
I never ask for their ideas or solutions.
That’s up to us to figure out.
I get them talking about what they do. Then I look for two things:
Highlights — things they love
Hurdles — obstacles that get in their way
We’re not looking for answers.
We’re looking for problems.
We’re not looking for statistics.
We’re looking for insights.
You don’t need thousands of interviews.
When 3 or 4 people have a similar struggle, you have something to work with.
For example…
Mr Jobs said he didn’t want to hear people’s ideas for the iPad. Fair enough.
But I bet it all started when he noticed a common struggle:
There are moments when an iPhone is too small, but a laptop is too bulky.
That was an interesting problem to consider.
He didn’t need anyone to tell him what to do next.
He only needed to notice where they struggled.
Start by asking your existing customers.
⚡️ #4/20 Website tips for people people
Every day for 20 days, I’ll aim to share a little insight about websites, what they’re for and how to make better ones.
I make websites for people people.
If you’re a people person, I hope it makes you think differently about your website.
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