This sounds like i’m going to be giving some really technical advice, right? Minimizing risk? Solutions to nuts and bolts problems? Better process? Not exactly. After meeting oodles of product managers in tech, I’ve seen that most of us have the mechanics down just fine. What’s missing for many people building or leading tech projects is entirely something else:
The ability to recognize joy in other people.
If you work as a product person, it’s easy to forget that you weren’t just hired to build or organize things. Your most important job is giving consumers or end users what they want. It’s not what you want that matters. Which means that a big part of your job should be about properly recognizing what people want, or what makes them happy, before you build something. The problem is that finding out what people really want - rather than what they say they want - is a legit art form.
First of all, there are a number of basic ways to do this, that you already know about. They include:
Using all your data analytics tools to tell you how users are behaving
Using heat-mapping tools such as Hotjar and the like
Running a survey
But it doesn’t stop there. You’re going to need to TALK to people in your target market if:
You’re seeing data that tells you your audience doesn’t like something you built
Your product is seeing slow adoption
You’re working on something so new that you don’t have enough data to make decisions
In these cases, the best tool of the trade is good ol’ interviews. Some companies never do them because they don’t respect their audience enough to realize one simple fact: your customers actually know quite a lot more than you do. But if you’ve read this far, you’re probably not making that mistake ;-)
To complete an interview process in which you’ll be able to get people to open up to you about what they really need, you will need to hone your abilities to listen and observe. You’ll want to line up between 5 and twenty 15-minute interviews with customers, and create a short list of about 5 open-ended questions that you will ask the participants, with the goal of having them do almost all of the talking.
Now that you’ve lined up interviewees - and hopefully you’ve chosen them carefully - it’s time to begin! After beginning each interview by thanking your participant for the time they are giving you, you will want to ask them about how they go about solving a particular problem today - without your product. Every interview you conduct should be about listening to people talk about current or past behaviours. This is because most people are bad at predicting their own future behaviour or future preferences, and won’t be able to give you accurate answers if you ask even simple “future-tense” questions like “Would you X”. Instead, you’ll to find out why they make the choices that they do, today. What motivates them to act? Which are the relationships that matter to them? Why do they do their jobs each day? Seeming mundanities can provide you with very rich insight. Now, here’s the key: when someone is describing to you how they interact with your product, or struggle with a daily task, or go about accomplishing something, keep your eyes peeled for “magic moments” - those important points in time which hold a lot of meaning or enjoyment for this person. Yes, the moments in their lives that bring them actual joy, however small - the moments that make their eyes light up. Your most important job, as a product person will be to amplify that joy or to make those moments happen more often. You’ll also need to invite them to talk about less magical moments - those moments of struggle or frustration. When these come up, it will be your job to listen very carefully with an eye toward what you can do to help them out of those moments.
If you’ve successfully earned people’s trust and gotten them to open up, the insights for how to build a successful product for them will by now have been handed to you on a silver platter. Now is the time to wave your magic technology wand and suggest what you can offer to make their lives easier or better. If you see their eyes light up in recognition or imagination - you’ve done your job. You’re now in a position to create more of the magic moments that those people actually want to have.
Skeptical about getting real results from such low-tech advice? Try it - it’s nearly free and will turn out to be one of the most gratifying, profitable investments you’ve ever made. If you’re still not sure where to begin - let’s talk!