Going Deep: How to Uncover Hidden Product Opportunities

Taste Isn’t Everything

In the early months of 1985 the Coca-Cola Company was poised to shake up the soft drink industry. They had been working for months on something big. On April 23rd the company finally made their announcement. With great pride and anticipation they introduced to the world, New Coke. Flavored closer to their competitor, Pepsi, New Coke was well tested with consumers. What ensued over the next 79 days can only be described as mayhem. They had achieved their goal of shaking up the soft drink industry, but not in the way they had intended. Coca-Cola customers overwhelmingly rejected the new formula, showing their frustration in protests and mass hoarding of the “old” coke. When they finally decided that they would bring the old formula back (renamed Coke Classic), broadcasters interrupted daytime television shows to make the announcement. It was a marketing nightmare.

Coca-Cola was looking for a game changer, but they missed the mark. Sure they spent a lot of time researching, developing and iterating on the actual formula, but they had already made up their minds that consumers were no longer happy with their flagship product. Put simply, they were solving the wrong problem.

Going Beyond the Surface

Many organizations know how to test and validate ideas that they already have, but finding new, creative ways to solve customer pain points is hard. How do we know what customers really want anyway? Often, even they have a hard time articulating their needs. One way to find those answers is by going straight to the source. Generative research works to gain more clarity around known problems and find previously unknown opportunities to alleviate pain for our customers. Using various methods of engaging directly with customers, we can make sure that we define the problems correctly, so that our solutions are more effective.

How to Use A Shovel

There are a number of ways to conduct generative research. They vary in application, but all of involve engaging with customers directly. These methods should be used when the problem is not clearly defined; visibility into a particular process or behavior is difficult; or fully understanding an issue requires a longer term investigation.

“Customers don’t know what they want. There’s plenty of good psychology research that shows that people are not able to accurately predict how they would behave in the future. So asking them, ‘Would you buy my product if it had these three features?’ or ‘How would you react if we changed our product this way?’ is a waste of time. They don’t know.”

Eric Reis

Interviews

There is nothing groundbreaking about the interview. It has been around since the dawn of humans, but it can be an effective exploratory research tool if used properly. As Eric Reis, author of Lean Startup, notes in the above quote, people are not very good about predicting how they would use something or whether they would buy something in the future. Similarly, people’s memories are not very reliable, unless they are reflecting on a personally significant event. Instead of asking about the future or the past, focus on the present. Probe on the things people are doing today. How, when and why do they use specific products? What do they like about those products? What don’t they like? Hopefully their answers will help you to identify opportunities within the gaps.

Contextual Inquiry

Sometimes really getting to know someone requires walking a mile in their shoes. Going where they go. Seeing what they see. Doing what they do. Contextual inquiry aims to do just that. It uses structured interviews coupled with observing people in their own environment, while performing normal tasks. This approach results in a much fuller picture of the user experience by giving context around the physical, technical and social environment in addition to the tools people use.

Cultural Probes

One of the most difficult parts about really getting to know users is that most of the time we cannot be there to observe them “in the moment.” Those key moments either occur at irregular intervals or happen over extended periods of time. Cultural probes are studies that use toolkits that allow us to find out what it is actually happening physically, mentally and emotionally in those moments. This approach is less intrusive than contextual inquiry as it does not require researchers to be present. It is also more scalable for the same reasons. Kits can be sent out to multiple individuals at a time. The kits for cultural probes vary depending on the kinds of information being collected, but can consist of maps, postcards, a diary or scrapbook, a camera, a voice recorder or anything else that can aid in the documentation of the experience.

Hitting Paydirt

A couple of years ago we hired an outside research firm to help us get a better understanding of how our users seek out deals. During that process the firm conducted interviews and followed our users around on their shopping trips. They were able to collect a lot of contextual data around what customers were thinking, feeling, doing and saying in those moments. In synthesizing the data they collected, the firm created a Customer Journey Map to communicate their findings. Our design team recently made some minor updates to the customer journey map and in doing so, identified some pain points in the deal seeking experience. We then spent some time taking a deep dive into those areas of friction to mine potential opportunities.

One of the pain points was around deal signals. We found that our customers are inundated with shopping related information. They receive circulars in the mail, tv ads about deals, see in-store signage and emails from a variety of sources including their favorite stores and savings related sites. Not to mention notifications from savings apps they may have on their mobile phones. This made us wonder how customers curate all of those signals. How do they filter through all that noise to find the deals that they care about? As a result, we are now exploring ways to assist our customers in curating all the deal communications they receive. Early validation studies have been promising. Feedback suggests that this sort of tool really strikes a chord with our users. While we are not sure where we will end up, we are certain that we are on the right path.

Generative research is meant to be exploratory. The goal is to provide deeper insights that will inspire product teams to create novel experiences. It requires talking directly to customers which requires planning, preparation and a significant investment of time, but if it is done right the payoff can be huge, providing value for both your business and your consumers.