Addressing Unknown-Unknowns in Customer Experience

While it can be easily believed that customers are the ultimate experts about their own needs, there are ways to gain insights and knowledge that customers may not be aware of or able to articulate directly. While customers are the ultimate source of truth about their needs, product managers can complement this knowledge by employing a combination of research, data analysis, and empathetic understanding to gain a more comprehensive understanding of customer needs and expectations. The goal is not to know more than customers but to use various tools and methods to gain insights that can lead to building better products and delivering exceptional user experiences. ➡️ User Research: Conducting thorough user research, such as interviews, surveys, and observational studies, can reveal underlying needs and pain points that customers may not have fully recognized or articulated. By learning from many users, we gain holistic insights and deeper insights into their motivations and behaviors. ➡️ Data Analysis: Analyzing user data, including behavioral data and usage patterns, can provide valuable insights into customer preferences and pain points. By identifying trends and patterns in the data, product managers can make informed decisions about what features or improvements are most likely to address customer needs effectively. ➡️ Contextual Inquiry: Observing customers in their real-life environment while using the product can uncover valuable insights into their needs and challenges. Contextual inquiry helps product managers understand the context in which customers use the product and how it fits into their daily lives. ➡️ Competitor Analysis: By studying competitors and their products, product managers can identify gaps in the market and potential unmet needs that customers may not even be aware of. Understanding what competitors offer can inspire product improvements and innovation. ➡️ Surfacing Implicit Needs: Sometimes, customers may not be able to express their needs explicitly, but through careful analysis and empathetic understanding, product managers can infer these implicit needs. This requires the ability to interpret feedback, observe behaviors, and understand the context in which customers use the product. ➡️ Iterative Prototyping and Testing: Continuously iterating and testing product prototypes with users allows product managers to gather feedback and refine the product based on real-world usage. Through this iterative process, product managers can uncover deeper customer needs and iteratively improve the product to meet those needs effectively. ➡️ Expertise in the Domain: Product managers, industry thought leaders, academic researchers, and others with deep domain knowledge and expertise can anticipate customer needs based on industry trends, best practices, and a comprehensive understanding of the market. #productinnovation #discovery #productmanagement #productleadership

I don't know what I don't know - a common challenge that can derail projects and team success. Having led multiple teams and projects across Asia Pacific, I've learned that addressing unknown unknowns is crucial for project success. Here's how I approach this challenge: 🔍 Start with structured discovery sessions. I always kick off projects with comprehensive discovery workshops where team members can openly share their knowledge gaps and concerns. This creates psychological safety and helps surface potential blind spots early. 📊 Map out knowledge domains. I try to identify different areas of expertise needed for the project - technical, business, regulatory, market-specific requirements. This helps highlight where we might have gaps in our collective knowledge. 🤝 Engage subject matter experts early. When dealing with new markets or technologies, I proactively bring in experts from different functions or external consultants. Their insights often reveal critical considerations we hadn't thought about. Along the way, I will proactively consult them for issues that crop up along the way too. ❓ Ask better questions. I've learned that asking the right questions is more important than having immediate answers. Some key questions I always ask: - What regulatory or compliance issues might we face? - What market-specific factors should we consider? - What similar projects have we done before? - What were the unexpected challenges? 🔄 Regular retrospectives. I schedule frequent check-ins where teams can safely discuss new uncertainties that emerge. This creates a culture of continuous learning and adaptation. 💡 Build in buffer time. When planning projects, I always account for the "unknown unknowns" by adding contingency time and budget. The more complex, the more likely chance of delays. This has saved many projects from delays when unexpected challenges arose. So, fellow leaders and project managers, how do you handle the "unknown unknowns" in your projects? What strategies have worked well for you in identifying and addressing knowledge gaps? #leadership #coaching #strategy #jenelim

In a recent conversation with a CEO about “the next leg” of their AI transformation, the CIO proudly walked me through their annual customer requirements survey, the long list of requested features, and the research budget devoted to capturing what customers say they want. It immediately reminded me of the line famously attributed to Henry Ford: “𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚.” Customers often describe the solution they can imagine, not the breakthrough they truly need. This is exactly the trap many organisations are falling into with AI. They are using AI to optimise what is already known: faster responses, incremental efficiency, a bit more automation around existing processes and stated requirements. That is useful, but it is not transformative. The real power of AI lies in helping us see and solve for the unknown – the unarticulated needs, the patterns humans cannot easily spot, the new ways to get customers from point A to point B that no one has words for yet. Jeff Bezos framed this beautifully when he said that Amazon’s strategy is built not on guessing what will change, but on what will not change: 𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚. Those are needs, not feature requests. In the same way, AI strategy should start from enduring customer needs and then ask: what could become possible now that was impossible before, if we stopped listening only to “faster horse” feature lists? So for all the leaders racing to “train everyone on AI” and pack roadmaps with AI features, perhaps the first mindset shift is this: move from customer requirements to customer needs – especially the unspoken and unmet ones. Use AI not just to speed up the old system, but to re‑imagine the journey itself. Are you using AI mostly being used to build “faster horses” for existing requirements, or to reveal and serve the deeper customer needs that nobody has quite been able to articulate yet? #transformation #leadership

In August we launched a new IP at Inc42 Media. We had the perfect GTM, team to execute and all the support we needed. But when we launched, the adoption numbers were pathetic. My initial reaction? Getting after the team to FIX IT. I jumped into the nitty gritty with the team and started improving the components of the product. But nothing changed. Frustrated, I stepped back and realised I had made a rookie mistake – I treated an 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 problem like a 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻. Here’s what I mean: Not all problems are the same. Some are straightforward – they just need to get done. Others are tricky – they require analysis. And then there are the real complex problems that need creativity and exploration. I came across the 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 framework, which perfectly explained where I went wrong: 🔹 For 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀, you already have the data – just execute (checklist thinking works here). 🔹 For 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀, you know what you don’t know – analyse, research, and fill the gaps. 🔹 For 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀, like my adoption problem, you don’t even know what you’re missing – that’s where innovation and design thinking come into play. In my case, the issue wasn’t messaging or UX tweaks. We had built something that our users truly wanted. But when I treated it like an 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻, I stopped “fixing” and started 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. We conducted deep-dive user interviews, gathered unfiltered feedback, and realised that we failed to highlight a critical part of the product that users truly cared about. Once we fixed that, adoption skyrocketed. The lesson? The solution isn’t always in “doing more” or even “thinking harder.” It’s about matching the right approach to the right kind of problem. If you’ve ever felt stuck solving a problem, 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: 🔹 Do I already have the answers? (Known Known → Execute) 🔹 Do I need to find the missing piece? (Known Unknown → Analyze) 🔹 Or do I need to rethink everything? (Unknown Unknown → Innovate) This mindset shift has saved me weeks of frustration and helped me make faster, better decisions. If you find it useful, you should run with it. #Leadership #ProblemSolving #StartupMindset

Find new unmet customer needs by four ways of looking … Identifying unmet customer needs, pains or dreams are crucial. To increase your chances of accurately detecting customers’ problems and dreams, you must diversify how and where you look. That’s why I introduce in my new book ‘Breaking Innovation Barriers’ the ‘Four Ways of Looking’, a new model, originally developed by Louis Barsoux, Michael Wade, and Cyril Bouquet. It involves two main approaches: improve your vision of mainstream users and challenge your vision by looking at unconventional users. 1. The Microscope Strategy. By zooming in on the experiences of your mainstream users you can identify unsurfaced needs through regular focus groups, interviews, or questionnaires. You step into a role of an anthropologist to understand the passions, frustrations, needs, and wants of your users. 2. The Panorama Strategy. By this way of looking, you can find unmet needs of mainstream users by looking at aggregated data, such as errors, complaints, and accidents, that amplify weak signals. Digital tools make it much easier to observe the behaviour of large numbers of individuals. The ‘big data’ needed can be collected from multiple sources like apps and smartphones and can be analysed for trends. 3. The Telescope Strategy. With this strategy you study fringe users, extreme users, nonusers, or even misusers. Demands from small niches are often dismissed as irrelevant. But when you zoom in on users at the periphery, you might uncover pain points that are relevant to the masses too, especially when they are lead users. 4. The Kaleidoscope Strategy. You can also look at distant groups together and find similarities that show unmet needs. It’s like spotting patterns in a kaleidoscope. The challenge, especially for managers in established companies, is to think beyond the usual groups like suppliers, distributors, and competitors. Make use of digital tools and AI to quickly analyse masses of data and identify patterns. Use this new model to diversify you way of finding new unmet customer needs. #customerneeds #jobstobedone #innovation #customerinsights