Customer Needs Analysis

Synopsis

How to make products that customers actually want? This Customer Needs Analysis presentation allows business leaders and marketers to generate revenue growth by catering to the perfect customer. Use them to drive sales and keep customers coming back.

Value proposition canvas

The Value Proposition Canvas allows you to visualize whether you've achieved product-market fit. The Canvas is split into two sections: One for the product, and one for target customers. Use the left-hand section to map your product's main benefits, features, and user experience details. Perhaps your shipping and delivery model is fast, or maybe you provide great post-purchase experience. On the customer side, map their wants, fears, and needs. What insights can be drawn from these emotions? Are you addressing the main gripes? (Slide 20)

Kano model

In any product or service, there are basic features and functionalities that customers rightly take for granted. For example, users would expect a navigation app to at least give the right direction from point A to B. To go above and beyond, however, there are ways to delight the consumer with features with pleasant surprises that users didn't expect but ended up loving.

The Kano Model considers user satisfaction with functionality. Features that are both functional and delight users should be prioritized. For example, a navigation app could show the business hours for the user's destination. (Slide 21)

Data from the Kano Diagram can also be tabulated as a distribution table. With Kano, allocate the appropriate amount of resources to product endeavors. Spend less on time-sinks, and more on what matters to users. (Slide 22)

Unmet customer needs

Now, this Unmet Customer Needs tool lets you do two things: identify what's important to your customers, and highlight which group of customers are most valuable. When a group of customers are of high value to your business but are unsatisfied, they're under-served. This is the group that needs to be won over.

When presenting findings of these customer sentiments to stakeholders, two big questions to address are: How important it is for a group of customers to address a certain problem in their lives, and how satisfied they are with their current solution. Usually, if a problem of high importance is getting unsatisfactory treatments, that's what the business should focus on. (Slide 6)

Business vs. customer needs

Realistically, internal business goals don't always align with customer needs. But there's bound to be a sweet spot that can address both. This Business vs Customer Needs Venn diagram can help reconcile your messaging and content with the desires of your customers. (Slide 27)

Understand what your priority content and message should be. Think about how to get important brand info across, while also addressing customer concerns? If you're a shipping company, perhaps you're required to move toward carbon-neutrality by new legislation. A large portion of your customers may also care about the environment. So that's a win-win.

Blue ocean buyer utility map

Based on the Blue Ocean framework, this Buyer Utility Map identifies areas where businesses can create new value for customers and differentiate themselves from competitors. To set yourself apart from other industry players, focus on areas that aren't yet checked off on this map. Nintendo used this tool to disrupt the gaming market. The company wanted to create a simpler gaming experience for non-traditional gamers. This led to the creation of the Wii console, which sold more than 100 million units. (Slide 29)

Pain points

Mapping out customer Pain Points allows you to point out areas that have potential for improvements. This visualization is inspired by a customer journey map. It lays out the user experience as positive and negative touchpoints. (Slide 11)

Pain points can also be plotted by severity and importance on a Pain Map. Perhaps when using a navigation app, the user found the right direction. But a paint point arose when they realized they couldn't customize the route. (Slide 12)

Product scope

Based on your findings on customer needs, you should be able to prioritize those needs into specific features that offer the most immediate benefits. A well-defined Product Scope is critical for lean product development. And it allows you to test ideas quickly. (Slide 19)

Perhaps when using a navigation app, the user found the right direction. But a paint point arose wThe Minimum Viable Product — or MVP — is the simplest possible version of a product that can be brought to market. The MVP is made of features that are absolutely essential, while leaving out the nice-to-have features for a later time.