Let’s first assume you know WHO your customers are and HOW to find them. How should you approach a user discovery meeting? There are many ways to gain feedback early on and throughout the product development process. The practices once you are offered the access to a potential user is what I’ll address.
The objective of these conversations and interviews is trying to unearth the true needs, unrealized wants and experiences of your potential customers. To design solutions people need, you have to understand their plight. Empathy is the only way you’ll glean these insights. Try to place yourself in their shoes by following these three tactics:
- Conduct in-person: preferable at their office
- Be open minded: no bias or preconceived notions
- Keep it open-ended: give opportunity for explanations
Prioritize a meeting at their workplace. There are many tools and processes to formally perform user discovery from traditional market research practices like surveys to “in-app” tracking and notifications. All of these practices can provide good data points when conducting user evaluations however none can substitute a face-to-face conversation. With just text or screens as a filter, you’re unable to see facial expressions, body language and other critical signs of engagement. Specifically for B2B SaaS, it’s also important to try to get a sense of their office, workplace environment, their desk and where they work. This provides additional context for their response to probing questions.
Enter the meeting with an open mind, no bias or preconceived notions. You’re on a mission to find uncovered truths. If you go into a discussion with a motive, you won’t be open to finding new ideas. It is very important that you do not try to sell or convince your interviewee of your idea or product. The demeanor you’ll exude in sales mode will not be favorable or conducive to discovery.
Prepare a list of questions that you’ll use in other interviews helps provide a consistency to the responses across multiple interviews. These questions should be open-ended, giving the interviewee the opportunity to explain or elaborate on their responses. Let individuals expound on answers and give them room to think. However, make sure to be cognizant of time and if the interviewee meanders off topic try to focus the conversation with clarifying questions.
I recently went to a potential user’s office to sit down and ask her questions about an idea I’m noodling on. I spent 40 minutes asking her questions about her challenges. It was a great discussion and productive time. I was able to understand her frustrations on a visceral. The appearance of the desks, her pensive look as I asked follow ups and the office layout all provided unspoken, invaluable data inputs that provided color on her challenges. Following the above tactics will ensure you have high quality user discoveries.
