Customer-Centric Innovation Methods

🔬 How To Run UX Research In B2B and Enterprise. Practical techniques of what you can do in strict environments, often without access to users. 🚫 Things you typically can’t do 1. Stakeholder interviews ← unavailable 2. Competitor analysis ← not public 3. Data analysis ← no data collected yet 4. Usability sessions ← no users yet 5. Recruit users for testing ← expensive 6. Interview potential users ← IP concerns 7. Concept testing, prototypes ← NDA 8. Usability testing ← IP concerns 9. Sentiment analysis ← no media presence 10. Surveys ← no users to send to 11. Get support logs ← no security clearance 12. Study help desk tickets ← no clearance 13. Use research tools ← no procurement yet ✅ Things you typically can do 1. Focus on requirements + task analysis 2. Study existing workflows, processes 3. Study job postings to map roles/tasks 4. Scrap frequent pain points, challenges 5. Use Google Trends for related search queries 6. Scrap insights to build a service blueprint 7. Find and study people with similar tasks 8. Shadow people performing similar tasks 9. Interview colleagues closest to business 10. Test with customer success, domain experts 11. Build an internal UX testing lab 12. Build trust and confidence first In B2B, people buying a product are not always the same people who will use it. As B2B designers, we have to design at least 2 different types of experiences: the customer’s UX (of the supplier) and employee’s UX (of end users of the product). In customer’s UX, we typically work within a highly specialized domain, along with legacy-ridden systems and strict compliance and security regulations. You might not speak with the stakeholder, but rather company representatives — who regulate the flow of data they share to manage confidentiality, IP and risk. In employee’s UX, it doesn’t look much brighter. We can rarely speak with users, and if we do, often there is only a handful of them. Due to security clearance limitations, we don’t get access to help desk tickers or support logs — and there are rarely any similar public products we could study. As H Locke rightfully noted, if we shed the light strongly enough from many sources, we might end up getting a glimpse of the truth. Scout everything to see what you can find. Find people who are the closest to your customers and to your users. Map the domain and workflows in service blueprints and . Most importantly: start small and build a strong relationship first. In B2B and Enterprise, most actors are incredibly protective and cautious, often carefully manoeuvring compliance regulations and layers of internal politics. No stones will be moved unless there is a strong mutual trust from both sides. It can be frustrating, but also remarkably impactful. B2B relationships are often long-term relationships for years to come, allowing you to make huge impact for people who can’t choose what they use and desperately need your help to do their work better. [continues in comments ↓] #ux #b2b

Empathy Isn’t Missing — It’s Misframed I’ve watched this video countless times. Every time, I don’t see generosity. I see design. I used to believe people ignore the truth because they don’t care. Now I realize it’s because they don’t see what I see. Empathy isn’t a lack of compassion — it’s a lack of perspective. And perspective can be designed. The words didn’t change the man’s story — they changed our frame of perception. When language shifts from description to contrast, it activates awareness. That’s the mechanism behind empathy — it’s not emotional contagion, it’s cognitive reframing. → We respond to difference, not repetition. → We act when a message bridges our world with someone else’s. → We feel when language turns distance into proximity. Here’s how I try to apply that lesson in my own work: ✅ Reveal contrast, not condition. Don’t describe pain — expose the gap between what is and what could be. ✅ Design for awareness before emotion. Help people notice first; feeling follows naturally. ✅ Make others participants, not observers. Use framing that transfers perspective, not pity. ✅ Use silence strategically. Leave room for the reader to complete the meaning. Because empathy doesn’t start with emotion — it starts with architecture. The right words don’t tell people what to feel. They help them feel what was already true. 💭 The Question 👉 When you communicate — are you trying to make people care, or helping them notice what they’ve been blind to all along? #LeadershipDesign #FramingEffect #CommunicationStrategy #CognitiveEmpathy #BehavioralPsychology #PerceptionDesign Video credits: Dr. Marcell Vollmer

I am a firm believer in 2 things: 1. Product/Service Experience trumps everything else when it comes to building a brand 2. In Early stages, even if the product isn't perfect, you can make it up with great service Here is a story I remembered when speaking to our early customers from 2015 yesterday to understand the longevity/performance of our fans Srinivasa Acharya sir was one of our earliest customers from 2015. For the first one year, I was the single person sales & service team. When he ordered the fans, we didn’t even have a payment gateway in the website. In fact, I mailed a proforma invoice and he made the payment through NEFT. Yes, this was D2C in 2015 ;) And since we were just starting, the product wasn’t perfect. There were multiple issues he faced. He struggled with the products for 2 months and wrote multiple mails to us saying how disappointed he was with the entire experience. He was extremely frustrated, and rightly so. But we took every mail as a feedback and quickly iterated and improved the product. Within those 2 months, the product improved substantially. And as the product was getting improved, our communication was swift and customer service was prompt Finally the problems were solved and the icing on the cake was when Srinivasa sir wasn’t just happy with our honest efforts and delightful customer service, but also went out of the way to recommend our fans to his friends and family Here was someone who faced issues with the product and within 2 months was recommending our product to others. This is the power of honest customer service. This pattern repeated again and again over the last 8 years. The customers who really love the brand are not people who never faced an issue. But people who faced an issue, and we exceeded their expectations on after sales service P.S. Here is a mail from Srinivasa Sir after his issues were solved We have received many compliments from many people over the years. But this mail from Srinivasa Sir calling me a “customer centric” person still remains very close to my heart. “Customer centricity” remains one of our core values at Atomberg and we try and live up to it every single day

In 2007, a pair of pants ignited a retail revolution that would forever change how men shop. Andy Dunn, a Stanford graduate and innovator, identified a significant gap in men’s fashion: the absence of well-fitting, high-quality pants available online. This insight inspired the creation of Bonobos, a company that would revolutionize men’s retail. Bonobos stood out by focusing on one key issue: providing great-fitting pants for men. They didn’t just sell pants; they transformed the shopping experience. Here's how Bonobos transformed men's fashion retail: > Bonobos proved that men would indeed buy clothes they couldn't try on.  90% of their initial sales came through their website, challenging long-held beliefs about male shopping habits (Harvard Business School). > The "Guideshop" concept: Bonobos introduced a revolutionary hybrid model. Their guideshops allowed customers to try on clothes in person but place orders online, blending physical and digital experiences. > Mastering the perfect fit: Bonobos nailed fit customization with a variety of sizes and fits, which helped them reach over $200 million in annual revenue by 2019 (Inc. Magazine) > Customer service excellence: Bonobos elevated customer service with their "Ninjas" - representatives empowered to go above and beyond for customers. This approach yielded an impressive 83% customer retention rate (Forrester) The Bonobos story teaches us that addressing real customer pain points can transform an industry, and blending online convenience with offline experiences creates a powerful retail model. As fashion industry professionals, we can draw inspiration from Bonobos' success. What areas of fashion retail do you think are ready for a Bonobos-style disruption? Share your ideas in the comments below. #FashionInnovation #RetailRevolution

I was just interrupted during our onsite innovation sprint… “I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s what our customers want.” We’ve been mapping our innovation roadmap all week, and something fascinating keeps happening: Our social team (who absolutely has a seat at the table) continuously brings a critical perspective: “The conversations on social are focusing elsewhere...” “Our listening tools show this is the actual pain point...” “Here’s what customers are saying in real-time...” Their insights can shift our next steps. And they are backed by data from thousands of real customer conversations flowing through social channels every day, unfiltered and honest. So the most valuable question we kept returning to during our onsite was: → Are we building what WE think matters, or what our CUSTOMERS say matters? Your social team isn’t just executing your social strategy - they’re sitting on insights that should be shaping your entire business strategy. How are you integrating social intelligence into your product roadmap? The answers might surprise you.

At Amazon, we would often spend months working on a single paragraph of the PR/FAQ for a new product idea. This was the "problem paragraph". Done well, it could lead to a successful product. Done wrong, it will lead to failure. Here is how to write a successful problem paragraph: The “problem paragraph” defines the customer problem you’re solving. Without this, you will build a product that doesn’t address a customer pain point. It shows whether you truly understand your customer's needs, not just your company’s capabilities. To write this paragraph, start by precisely identifying the customer segment that will be served by your product. Great products are built for specific people with specific needs. For instance, designing a car for single urban professionals under 35 differs significantly from designing for suburban families with three kids and a dog. If you think your product is for everyone, you’re mistaken. A strong way to begin your paragraph is: “Today, [customer segment] has [problem], which they currently solve using [methods A, B, and C]…” Next, quantify the problem: → How large is the segment? (e.g., 17 million households) → What methods do they use? (e.g., 45% use A, 25% use B, 30% use C) → What are the tradeoffs? (e.g., speed, cost, quality) Here’s an example for a hypothetical robot vacuum product: “Today, 15 million busy urban and suburban professionals earning between $100,000 and $200,000 struggle to find the time and energy to keep their homes clean. Approximately 30% of these households use traditional vacuuming, which requires up to 2 hours per week. 55% hire a cleaner at a minimum of $50/week, and 15% use robot vacuums that cost $600 plus $100/year in maintenance, while leaving behind up to 30% of dust and dirt.” This problem paragraph quantifies the customer problem in terms of money, time, and other metrics where possible (in this case, the dust and dirt left behind). The problem should always be quantified; otherwise, how can you assess the potential value of a product that solves it? Well-defined customer problems are built on data-based insights. Insights are gleaned from swimming in data and metrics. This includes customer usage metrics, process or operations metrics, user interviews, demographic data, customer feedback, customer support data and anecdotes. The more data-based and specific your insight, the more accurate and helpful your problem paragraph will be. This is why the process can take months. However, distilling these quantified insights into a single paragraph gives you the best chance at building a truly useful product. At Amazon, this paragraph was always the most debated section in a PR/FAQ. This is because getting the problem wrong is the worst mistake you can make in building a product. Everywhere else, you can pivot. But if the problem is incorrectly diagnosed, nothing else matters. (cont. in comments)

 I've met over 500 founders, and the ones I admire most are those who: 1️⃣ Build Great Products: They don't just know their products; they create solutions that make a real difference. Their expertise is not just in features but in how those features solve real-world problems. 2️⃣ Solve Real Problems: They look beyond the surface, identifying and addressing the core issues their customers face. Their drive is to create impactful and meaningful solutions. 3️⃣ Understand Customers in Their Circumstances: They dive deep into the world of their customers, understanding their challenges, aspirations, and daily lives. This empathy drives every decision and innovation. 🌟 As founders, our mission is multi-layered and vital: ➡ Product Innovation: It's not just about knowing your product; it's about evolving it. Understand its impact, adapt to emerging needs, and always aim for excellence. ➡ Customer-Centric Design: Build with the customer in mind. From their struggles to their successes, your product should be a key player in their story. ✅ The Dos: 1. Engage Deeply with Product Innovation: - Stay ahead in innovation, ensuring your product leads the market in solving real problems. - Regularly use and challenge your product to understand and improve the user experience. 2. Prioritize Customer-Centric Solutions: - Maintain open, empathetic communication channels with customers. - Use customer feedback as a cornerstone for development, not just an afterthought. 3. Lead with Empathy and Insight: - Anticipate and address customer needs proactively. - Foster a culture where every team member values customer satisfaction and understands their role in achieving it. 4. Continuously Adapt and Innovate: - Encourage innovation focused on real-world problem-solving and customer needs. - Regularly assess and evolve your product, staying in tune with market dynamics and customer preferences. ❌ The Don'ts: - Never Ignore Customer Feedback - Avoid Complacency in Product Development - Do Not Underestimate the Value of Team Collaboration - Do Not Neglect Market and Competitive Analysis We must be innovators, driven by a passion for solving real problems. We must be empathetic listeners and insightful observers, understanding not just the market's current state, but its potential and direction. What do you think defines a truly impactful founder? #entrepreneur #founder #startup #business

64% of user stories fail to deliver value. Are yours in the majority—or the magic 36%? The problem isn’t agile. It’s how you’re framing user stories. Picture this: Your team’s sprint board is a sea of sticky notes. You’ve followed the “As a ___, I want ___, so that ___” formula. But stakeholders still ask, “𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲?” Sound familiar? In today’s “adapt or die” market, user stories that lack value are inefficient and pose existential risks. The secret isn’t in writing user stories—it’s in writing user stories that prioritize value. 1️⃣ Empathy ≠ Assumptions Mistake: Write stories based on what you think users need. 𝗙𝗶𝘅: 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮. Example: - A fintech team reduced feature churn by 40% by pairing user stories with Hotjar session recordings. Actionable Takeaway: > “𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩, ‘𝘞𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 [𝘟 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳], 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 [𝘠 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯] 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 [𝘡 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦].’” 2️⃣ Outcome Over Output Mistake: Confusing tasks (“Build a login button”) with outcomes (“Reduce failed logins by 25%”). 𝗙𝗶𝘅: 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝘃𝗮𝘀: 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 [𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯], 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 [𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯], 𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 [𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦].  Example: Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” story focused on “Increase user engagement by 20% through personalized content”—not just “Build a playlist algorithm.” 3️⃣ The 5-Minute ‘So What?’ Test Mistake: Stories that survive sprint planning but die in retrospectives. 𝗙𝗶𝘅: 𝗔𝘀𝗸: - “If we don’t do this, what breaks?” - “Does this align with our Star Metric?” Data point: Teams using this test ship have 30% fewer “zombie stories” (The Standish Group). 4️⃣ Kill the ‘We’ll Figure It Out Later’ Lie Mistake: Vague acceptance criteria. 𝗙𝗶𝘅: 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 Amazon’𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱: - Draft the press release first. Example: > “New feature X reduced onboarding time by 15% for 10K users in Q1.” 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺. But here’s the twist: What if your user story isn’t about the user? (Hint: It’s about the ecosystem they operate in.) 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝟯 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁: ✅ Tied to a measured behaviour (not a guess) ✅ Defines a numeric outcome (not a task) ✅ Survives the “So What?” test ✅ Has a draft press release Teams that do this see 2.3x faster value realization (Forrester). “The goal of agile isn’t to finish sprints—it’s to deliver outcomes that matter.” - Jeff Patton ✅ TL;DR: Value-driven user stories = shorter sprints, happier users, fewer wasted $$$. Start with why and end with impact. P.S. Did you like this? Share it with your team—clarity is contagious. Let’s crowdsource brilliance—drop your take and tag a colleague who needs this. Image: Knowledge Train

Building a business around customers is harder than most companies make it out to be. Many claim to be customer focused, but few start with it as the foundation. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. I have been reflecting on this after observing Groww. Few companies I have seen actually start with understanding their users, and their approach to building products around real customer needs felt worth sharing. 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞. Before launching, Lalit Keshre and his co-founders who came from a tech-consumer based company- Flipkart. Did not have a finance backdrop, but understood customers. They spent a full year listening to potential users through WhatsApp groups, Quora, and surveys in multiplexes. They realised that financial services were being sold to people, not bought by them, and that most investors did not have the right information to make decisions. Every product choice that followed came from these insights. 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐰’𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲: *Their big break was in 2018, when they changed the game by offering only direct mutual funds at zero commissions. Zero commission became a big thing in the industry. *Within three years of their start they launched stock trading with no account opening fees, and now it has emerged as the largest broker in the country. Overall, they’ve been making trading accessible and easy. * One of their initiatives ‘Inside Groww’ invites customers to meet and interact with different teams of Groww directly in their office * Weekly ‘Groww ProdX’  sessions involve 500 plus employees for testing new product flows with real users to identify glitches and improve the tech in real time These bottom-up practices built trust. Today, Groww handles one in four new SIPs in India, has over 13 million active users, and more than 83% of new customers come through word of mouth. Growth did not come from marketing tricks, it came from solving real problems. 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐰’𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧: in a crowded market, the ultimate competitive advantage isn't a feature, but a foundational customer obsession. They have understood that 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦��𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Tactic 2 for influencing stakeholders from Jules Walter: Frame your message from their POV (not yours) It’s more effective to speak their language and demonstrate how your proposal will help them reach their goals, not yours. Stakeholders are focused on their own problems and are more receptive to proposals that address what’s already top of mind for them. A few years ago, when I was leading Monetization at Slack, we began to encounter diminishing returns in our product iterations, and we needed to take a bigger swing to re-ignite revenue growth. To do that, I spearheaded a controversial project to experiment with a new approach to free-to-paid conversion. The CEO, Stewart Butterfield, had strong reservations about the project. I knew from his previous statements that he didn’t want the company to be thinking about ways to extract value from users, but rather ways to create value for them. We had scheduled a review with the CEO and a few of his VPs to discuss the proposal. Since he was intensely user-driven, I framed the entire proposal around the benefits it would have for users (the CEO’s POV) rather than emphasizing the revenue impact of the project (our team’s goal). I started the meeting by anchoring the proposal on user-centric insights that we shared in a deck: - “About 10% of purchases of Slack’s paid version happen from users in their first day on Slack.” - “Paid users find more value and retain better. Yet we make it hard for people to discover that Slack has a paid version that’s more helpful.” - “How do we help new teams experience the full version of Slack from the start?” Once we framed the issue with this user-centric lens, the CEO was more open to our proposal and let us try a couple of experiments in this new direction. This user-centric framing also got the cross-functional team more excited and set an aspirational North Star with clear guardrails, which then enabled various teammates to contribute productively to the project. After we tested two iterations of our monetization experiment, we landed on a version that resulted in a significant increase in revenue for Slack (a 20% increase in teams paying for Slack) and we used what we learned to shift Slack’s monetization strategy into a new, more successful direction. Full set of tactics here: https://lnkd.in/gezP2EDw