Customer Discovery Basics - Rock Center for Entrepreneurship
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“Often a business will define three to five per- sonas, and may define different personas for different groups in the purchasing process, such as “buyers” and “users.”” Use interviews to discover and learn, not to validate your opinion or pitch. Suggested interview guidelines include: “When you ask open-ended questions, you’re looking and listening for emotion and frustration; the emotional response is key.” © 2021 Harvard Business School. Created by BullsEye Resources, www.bullseyeresources.com. 1 Objectives Common Mistakes Validate strong, unmet needs Proceeding to a solution without validating the need Confirm the problem is worth solving The #1 reason startups fail is no market need Develop an estimate of the TAM (total addressable market) The pain is not big enough to make it an attractive market/ opportunity Understand the buying process, adoption barriers Developing a solution without understanding the entire buying process, journey, and all of the barriers Pro tip: Problem-solution definition and understanding is not a one-time event; it must be an ongoing, iterative process, since circumstances and needs are always changing. Pro tip: While you may have multiple personas, define and focus on one to two primary personas. Not prioritizing or focusing may yield a diffuse product. What to Do What NOT to Do Focus on LEARNING Pitch or sell Listen Talk (you should listen more than you talk) Use open-ended questions like “Walk me through the steps . . . “ Use leading questions; avoid asking, “Wouldn’t you agree that . . .?” or “Would you buy this?” Explore past behaviors by asking, “Tell me about the last time that you . . . “ Don’t ask about opinions or intentions or “How likely are you to . . . ?” Use the “5 Whys” to probe root causes Accept answers without probing deeply
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