March 29, 2019 at 17:45Customer Development as a Life Philosophy
This is a Friday article about the application of modern business methods in everyday life. Please take with humor.
Customer Development came to us as a methodology for determining the needs of potential customers when creating new products. However, its principles can be applied in solving many personal problems. Moreover, CustDev can be part of the life philosophy of modern man.
Applying Cust Dev's philosophy helps improve relationships between people. As a life principle, it may look like this:
How to apply. Examples.
Example No. 1: Buying a gift for a loved one or colleague.
From time to time, we all face a problem - what to give to close people in the face of a huge variety of options. We want the gift to be personal, memorable, sincere. In other words - as the donee wants.
Get ready in advance - pay attention to what the donee is looking at in stores, which he often talks about, discussing what subjects are of great interest.
Customer Development is effective when applied to research past experiences. If the topic of gifts ever pops up in your conversation, you should ask - what gift did you like / remember most of all in your life? And why?
Ask your general acquaintances what interests a person who needs to buy a surprise gift.
If you think of asking directly what to give you, you risk hearing accusations of inattention or even greed. Therefore, it is better to investigate the topic discreetly.
Example No. 2: Office improvement.
Quite often, in the HR environment, the theme of office improvement arises - what else would you do to make your favorite employees more comfortable working. Using the philosophy of Customer Development, the task is solved quite simply.
Listen to what relaxation formats employees discuss over a cup of tea or coffee.
What inspires your employees? Do they discuss the interiors of the offices of well-known companies? Throw pictures of the offices of well-known companies into the chat and listen to what they will say in this regard.
You can directly ask the question - “What would you personally improve in our office and how?”. You need to ask personally tête-à-tête. You can organize a survey on Google forms, but it must be anonymous, and a request to pass it must be made personally to each employee. This is important, because suspicious employees can immediately suspect something was wrong, think that they are being evaluated in this way, that reductions may happen soon or someone will be deprived of the bonus.
Customer Development came to us as a methodology for determining the needs of potential customers when creating new products. However, its principles can be applied in solving many personal problems. Moreover, CustDev can be part of the life philosophy of modern man.
Applying Cust Dev's philosophy helps improve relationships between people. As a life principle, it may look like this:
If you want to get a good result and a grateful attitude to yourself, then first find out what people want and do it, and not what seems right to you personally.The algorithm for applying this principle is simple.
- Try to prepare and conduct your research in advance.
- Remember the statements and actions of people for whom you are going to do something on a given topic.
- Think clarifying questions.
- Ask clarifying questions in advance and gradually, without attracting attention.
- If you want to conduct a study secretly and without causing suspicion, then organically weave your questions during other conversations and discussions.
- Avoid public polls, because in public people often do not express their opinions, but tend to other people's authoritative opinions.
How to apply. Examples.
Example No. 1: Buying a gift for a loved one or colleague.
From time to time, we all face a problem - what to give to close people in the face of a huge variety of options. We want the gift to be personal, memorable, sincere. In other words - as the donee wants.
Get ready in advance - pay attention to what the donee is looking at in stores, which he often talks about, discussing what subjects are of great interest.
Customer Development is effective when applied to research past experiences. If the topic of gifts ever pops up in your conversation, you should ask - what gift did you like / remember most of all in your life? And why?
Ask your general acquaintances what interests a person who needs to buy a surprise gift.
If you think of asking directly what to give you, you risk hearing accusations of inattention or even greed. Therefore, it is better to investigate the topic discreetly.
Example No. 2: Office improvement.
Quite often, in the HR environment, the theme of office improvement arises - what else would you do to make your favorite employees more comfortable working. Using the philosophy of Customer Development, the task is solved quite simply.
Listen to what relaxation formats employees discuss over a cup of tea or coffee.
What inspires your employees? Do they discuss the interiors of the offices of well-known companies? Throw pictures of the offices of well-known companies into the chat and listen to what they will say in this regard.
You can directly ask the question - “What would you personally improve in our office and how?”. You need to ask personally tête-à-tête. You can organize a survey on Google forms, but it must be anonymous, and a request to pass it must be made personally to each employee. This is important, because suspicious employees can immediately suspect something was wrong, think that they are being evaluated in this way, that reductions may happen soon or someone will be deprived of the bonus.