This presentation is a boiled down version of a workshop i do with startups.
The goal of the workshop is to start with customer interviews and improve or pivot the startup's product.
It is based on the method of customer development by steve blank but focuses mainly on how to do interviews the right way.
3. #emminvest â @andreasklinger
What we will cover
- Basics of Customer Development
- Dos and Donâts of Customer Interviews
- Custdev Process for Teams
This is a short version of a 5h product development workshop i usually run with startups.
@andreasklinger
âStartup Founderâ, âProduct Guyâ
âDone lots of customer interviewsâ
13. âStartups donât fail because they lack a product;
they fail because they lack customers and a
proïŹtable business modelâ Steve Blank
And it might have been where you didnât look.
@andreasklinger
22. Learn ConïŹrm
Find a problem worth solving.
Find a potential solution.
Validate that this solution works.
Validate a business model.
@andreasklinger
23. âThe hard part is ïŹnding the
problem to solve.â
Kevin Systrom
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2738
@andreasklinger
24. When i say problems i mean Jobs to be Done
Watch: http://bit.ly/cc-jtbd
âJob to Be Doneâ
Products are bought because
they solve a âjob to be doneâ.
Therefore not every
âproblemâ is ânegativeâ.
@andreasklinger
25. Question
- I am generation digital
- I never read paper newspapers
- I would never buy a tabloid
Still: I take a metro newspaper in
the London subway and read it
begin to end while traveling.
Why?
@andreasklinger
26. Question
- I am generation digital
- I never read paper newspapers
- I would never buy a tabloid
Still: I take a metro newspaper in
the London subway and read it
begin to end while traveling.
Why?
No reception. Travel of 20 minutes.
27. Customers have a âJob to be doneâ in mind before
they see your product.
@andreasklinger
28. Customers have a âJob to be doneâ in mind before
they see your product.
@andreasklinger
Understanding that job enables
product niching.
29. Learn ConïŹrm
Find a problem worth solving.
Find a potential solution.
Validate that this solution works.
Validate a business model.
@andreasklinger
30. Validating
Problem
Validating
Solution
We do this in two steps.
Do they care?
Do they need it?
Do they have budget for it?
Who really is âtheyâ?
Does our solution solve their
problem?
Do they understand our solution?
Would they pay for it?
@andreasklinger
31. How to know what customers want?
âJust go and ask them.â
@andreasklinger
32. âIf i had asked my customers
what they wanted, they would
have said 'a faster horse'â
Henry Ford
Henry Ford asked wrong.
@andreasklinger
34. The hardest things in customer interviews:
Knowing who is your customer.
Ask them the right way.
Understand their feedback.
Iterate or Kill your idea.
@andreasklinger
36. âŠfrom Europeâs #1 Custdev
Expert @robïŹtz.
Watch Robâs talk: http://bit.ly/rf-custdev
I only took the liberty to make them worse by
adding clutter and changing his face to mine.
THE FOLLOWING SLIDES
ARE ALL STOLEN.
D
ISC
LA
IM
ER
@andreasklinger
39. âYou are young and got an oscar. Are you
worried about peaking your career too soon?â
âUuh. Well now I am!â - Jennifer Lawrence
@andreasklinger
58. Good questions:
- Did or Do - NEVER Would
- Donât assume preset (e.g. problems)
- Donât ask for opinions but let them speak
about real examples/experiences.
59. The Perfect Question
âThe Mother Testâ - (c) @robïŹtz
Ask in a way that your mother could tell you that
your product is useless. Without her knowing.
70. â
â
Jeremy
We are spending
500$ per month
on this :(
Awesome feedback!
Proofs it is a problem, they
kind of solved it, and shows
their budget availability.
71. Opinions are worthless.
We look for:
- facts about their life/work
- and commitments
- âThink VS Doâ
@andreasklinger
76. Validate Problem
DeïŹne Assumptions about their Problem
DeïŹne Assumptions about current solutions
@andreasklinger
Split in different customer segments if needed
77. Validate Problem
#emminvest â @andreasklinger
Create Topic Maps
Group your assumptions to Topics.
DeïŹne non-leading Questions:
Eg. âpeople want to connect with
fashion labelsâ
How do you ask that?
âDo you want to connectâ is leading.
âWhich fashion brands do you know?â
âWhy do you like them?â
âOh thatâs interesting. How did you ïŹnd
out about that?â
âAh via facebook?...â etc.
78. Action.
Get in groups and create topic maps,
customer segments and
non leading questions
@andreasklinger
79. Validate Problem The Interviews
Donât be awkward:
- âWe are looking for Expert Feedbackâ or
âDoing a Surveyâ
- not: âWe do Customer Developmentâ
- Ask open questions.
- Let them speak.
- Let them be the expert. (Ask naive)
- In person. No skype, no online surveys,
no phone, no email.
Donât do more interviews if feedback
repeats. (No new learnings)
@andreasklinger
80. Validate Problem The Interviews
Second person takes notes
- No laptop
- Use IndexCards or Postits.
- Write down exact customer phrase
- Use Visual indicators ---------------->
Ask for further intros.
Ask âIs there anything you think i should
have askedâ.
@andreasklinger
82. Action.
Test run interviews.
Group into people who like ice-cream.
And people who want to build a unique
ice-cream startup idea.
@andreasklinger
83. Validate Problem Review
Review in the team
- Use exact wording by customer
- Understand their answers in their
context
- Donât try to be correct with your
assumptions
- See what you learned.
@andreasklinger
84. Source: Custdev.com#emminvest â @andreasklinger
Validate Problem Review
- Write down new learnings (or new
assumptions)
- See which old assumptions turned out
to be wrong or right.
- Adapt your solution.
85. Source: Custdev.com
Validate Solution
- Come back to interviewees
- Focus ïŹrst on their current solution.
- Discuss ïŹaws of their current solution.
- Show mockups, screens, interactive demos.
- Get improvement feedback.
- Get them to commit.
- Or iterate.
If it solves a problem you donât need to sell (much)
@andreasklinger
86. If you were wrong. Be happy.
Several of the biggest startup successes started out wrong.
You still have money, team and energy to iterate or pivot.
87. Summary
- Know what you want to learn.
- Narrow your customer segment
- Formulate your assumptions.
- DeïŹne biggest questions (topic map).
- Ask non leading, open questions.
- Ask about experience not opinions.
- Understand their feedback in their context.
- Filter âNice Human Behaviourâ and Opinions.
- Adapt with your learnings. Iterate your product.
TL;DR: Use custdev to doublecheck your assumptions and product.
Never bias in customer interviews.
@andreasklinger
88. Read on
Highly recommended:
Rob Fitzpatrickâs Collection of best Custdev Videos - @robïŹtz
http://www.hackertalks.io
@andreasklinger
89. Tweet & share
@andreasklinger
If you like this presentation, please tweet about it:
âActionable Customer Development for Startupsâ - A workshop by @andreasklinger -
slides: http://www.slideshare.net/andreasklinger/actionable-customer-development