Customer Research - Briefly Explained

“Supposing is good.
Finding out is better.”
Mark Twain

Customer research helps us:
1. Understand what problems
customers want solved

Customer research data
enables us to:
2. Analyse how important
these problems are to
customers

Customer research helps us
determine:
3. How much customers
might pay for a solution to
their problem

Having customer research
means we can decide:
4. What products and
features to develop

Having customer research
means we have:
5. Rich anecdotes that bring
the product idea to life!

Without research, we make
decisions in a bubble … far away
from reality

Research
SHOULD BE
an ongoing
activity

The mix of research we
undertake depends on the
question(s) that we want
answered..

… and the stage of the
Product Delivery process that
we need answers for.

1. Will the idea
solve a lucrative
customer
problem?
The question we want answered at the
Innovate phase …

Ideate
• Past Research Review previous research data that may have been commissioned
for other projects.
Both Quantitative & Qualitative,
Secondary Research Source
• Cultural Probe Exploratory method using various tools (postcards, journey maps,
cameras, journals) to understand personal context and
circumstance.
Qualitative, Primary Research
Source
Explore
• Literature Review Review of any relevant journals, articles periodicals that might
provide insights about customer trends and behaviour.
Qualitative, Secondary Research
Source
• Ethnographic Study Immersion in the customer’s natural environment to observe,
document social life & make interpretations about its meaning.
Source
• Focus Groups An interactive group session where target customers are asked
about their opinions, beliefs and attitudes about a topic or idea.
Source
• Competitor Analysis Technically not customer research but much can be gleaned from
understanding what resonates with customers from competitor
products.
Source
Focus
• Online Questionnaires A list of written questions that can be both close ended or open
ended.
A range of methods can be used to design the questionnaire such
as choice modelling.
Both Quantitative & Qualitative,
Primary Research Source
We answer the question by doing this type
of customer research …
Bella & Hanington, Universal Methods of Design, 2112 | Ladner, Practical Ethnography, 2012

2. Who are these
customers and what
product features do
they consider
desirable?
The question we want answered at the
Design phase …

Immerse
• One on One Face / Telephone
Interviews
One on one structure or unstructured interviews to
understand the customer’s perception about a topic of
idea or more information about their personal
circumstances.
Qualitative, Primary Research Source
• Contextual Inquiry A semi-structured interview method to obtain information
about the context of use, where customers are first
asked a set of standard questions and then observed
and questioned while they interact in their own
environments. .
• Diary Studies An artefact that enables customers to capture thoughts
and actions about their life. Combination of audio,
photos, text, video.
Source
Design
• Card Sorting A technique that enables researches to understand how
customers categorise content, information.
• Kano Analysis Method for classifying customer needs and determining
what features to add or subtract.
Both Qualitative & Quantitative,
Primary Research Source
• Eyetracking Tracks the eye movement of customers who are looking
at a product or interface to determine what customers
are looking at or ignoring.
We answer the question by doing this type
Usability Body of Knowledge, www.usabilitybok.org

3. Can the
customer use
the product?
4. What
messages
resonate with
buyers?
The questions we want answered at the
Implement phase …

Build
• Usability Testing Method for determining the usability of a product with the
target market to ensure that customers can complete
certain tasks and use the product as intended.
Prepare
• A/B Testing Method for testing 2 versions of the message (call to
action, value proposition, promotional offer etc) to
determine which message the target customer group
prefers.
• Brand Surveys A technique for assessing the appeal of the brand and if
the product aligns with the brand promise.
We answer the questions by doing this type
Paras Chopra, The Ultimate Guide to AB Testing, http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/06/24/the-ultimate-guide-to-a-b-testing/

5. Why did the
customer buy or
not buy the
product?
The questions we want answered during the
day to day …

Day to Day Product Management
• Win/Loss Analysis A formal, data driven program to gather feedback from
customers and lost prospects to understand the problems or
attractiveness of the sales process and the products being sold.
Source
• Analytics Technically not customer research but it does enable the
business to understand customer activity and patterns to
improve product performance. Powerful when combined with
qualitative research.
Quantitative, Primary Research
Source
• Surveys A face to face or telephone method for collecting information
from customers.
Bella & Hanington (p172) describe various methods:
• Closed – forced choice
• Open – broad with no set response
• General – view on big picture
• Specific – focused on details
• Comparative – asks for judgement on 2 or more alternatives
• Hypothetical – asks to speculate about behaviour or actions
• Requests for suggestions – new ideas, opinions
Survey conducted online is known as a questionnaire
Source
We answer the questions by doing this type
Bella & Hanington, Universal Methods of Design, 2112 | Ladner, Practical Ethnography, 2012

So Who Is
Doing What
Research?

Is it …
User Experience
Product Management
Marketing
Brand

Sometimes it seems
everyone(!) in the company is
doing customer research

… because a single research
project cannot provide the
answers to all questions for
everyone

Each team (UX, Marketing,
Product & Brand) has a different
lens when conducting research

UX wants to understand the
user, user
tasks, behaviours, goals and
the environment …

28
Learning What People Do
Learning How Many People Will
Pay & How Much?
Learning What People Think, Say & Feel
Learning About Problems To
Be Solved
UX
QuantitativeQualitative
AttitudinalBehavioural
The foundation of this matrix was developed by Christian Rohrer, When to Use Which User Experience Research Methods, Nielsen Norman Group, 2008

…so that they may create a
delightful experience

Product conducts research
to uncover market
opportunities or to test
hypotheses …

31
Pay & How Much?
Learning What People Say & Feel
Be Solved PRODUCT

…so that they may determine if
the idea is valuable and is
lucrative for the business

Marketing undertakes
research to understand what
buying reasons appeal to
buyers …

34
Pay & How Much?
Be Solved
MARKETING

…so that they
can drive
demand and
increase sales

Brand tests customer
sentiment to understand if the
brand resonates with
customers …

37
Pay & How Much?
Be Solved
BRAND

…so that they may
fulfil the brand
promise and grow
customer loyalty

40
Pay & How Much?
Be Solved
BRAND
MARKETING
PRODUCT
UX

…. we provide richer insights
and analysis to better
understand the customer

Step 1:
Establish where you’re at in
the Product Delivery process.

Step 2:
Most importantly, determine
the question you want
answered?

Step 3:
Is there any previous
research material that can
help answer the question?

Step 4:
If no, select a research
method or a mix of methods
that will provide you with the
answer you need.

Go on… kick off your research!

Connect with Brainmates
48
Brainmates Group @Brainmates
#prodmgmt
Facebook.com/Brainmates
www.brainmates.com.au info@brainmates.com.au + 61 2 9923 8147

Customer Research - Briefly Explained

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