Our latest Product Talks event focused on one of the most significant yet often highly neglected areas of Product Management – market research. A deep understanding of our customers and their needs pave the way for solid business cases and effective strategies for market segmentation, pricing, and product features prioritisation. In a high-paced society where trends, market needs, and customer preferences change at an alarming rate, maintaining a competitive edge may be just a customer insight away. Some key questions this event and presentation focused on are: 1. How to ask customers questions that will draw out the most reliable and valuable responses 2. Tips for analysing, extrapolating and deducing data into accurate insights 3. Methods for testing product ideas and product features on your target market 4. Understanding where customer insight can be of use in the product management and marketing process

1. Product Talks #6
Capturing the right customer insights
26th May, 2010
Sponsored by AIPMM Page no.

2. Speakers
Host
Paul Gray
Consultant, brainmates #bmprodtalks
@paulalexgray
@brainmates
Guest panellists
Steven Noble Natalie Rowland Adrian Ewart
Senior Analyst Qualitative Specialist Head of Consulting and
Forrester Research Red Rollers Research Analytics
@Steven_noble @redrollers Veda Advantage
@forrester
Page no.

3. Agenda
What is customer insight?
Definitions
Importance for product managers & marketers
Panel interview
Open questions
Page no.

4. Journey or destination?
Page no.
4

5. “Research is to see what Research is what I‟m doing when
everybody else has seen, and to I don‟t know what I‟m doing
think what nobody else has
thought”
Werner von Braun
Albert Szent-Gyorgi The most exciting phrase to hear
in science, the one that heralds
new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!'
but 'That's funny...'
Page no.
Isaac Asimov

6. What happens in reality?
Page no.
6

7. Drowning in data?
Page no.

8. Ridiculously complex statistics?
Page no.
8

9. What’s the point of reports on shelves?
Reports sitting on shelves?
Page no.
9

10. Please define ‘customer insight’
Page no.
10

11. A definition of customer insight
Customer insight refers to a deeper and more thorough
understanding of the problems that customers face and their
needs and wants.
It transforms assumptions and hunches into validated
understanding of customer behaviour.
With good customer insight, product managers and
marketers can articulate customer problems, needs and
wants better than customers themselves.
Page no.

12. Who does it?
Page no.
12

13. Why is customer insight important for
product managers and marketers?
Understand customer needs to develop and offer
better products
Achieve customer loyalty by better service their needs
Facilitate future innovation
Differentiate on factors that are relevant and
compelling
Reinforce your value proposition and brand
= Maximise value for all stakeholders
Page no.

14. Relevance to product managers,
marketers and strategists
Page no.
The brainmates product delivery cycle©

15. Stage 1 – Idea
Key stage actions and outputs
• Target Market Definition
• Market Problem
• Market Opportunity
Customer insight opportunities
• Listen out for customer demands
• Investigate market problems
• Ask the market for input and feedback
to your ideas
• Explore avenues without over-
commiting
Page no.

16. Stage 2 & 3 – Product
strategy and planning
Key stage actions and outputs
• Find synergy between market
requirements and business capability
• Articulate market problems, needs,
and wants
• Develop business case and market
requirements
Customer insight opportunities
• Incorporate internal and external input
and feedback on ideas
• Validate assumptions about market
problems and unearth new facets of
problem
• Use real data from real people to create
personas, provide more detail, test issues
Page no.
and voice concerns

17. Stage 4 – Product Definition
Key stage actions and outputs
• Articulate the „Solution‟
• Define product requirements
• Articulate features and benefits in detail
Customer insight opportunities
• Validate features and benefits through
stakeholder review
• Prioritise elements on product roadmap
• Develop value-add innovations outside
of core space
• Provide guidance for internal colleagues
who will work on subsequent stages
Page no.

18. Stage 5 & 6 - Marketing
Key stage actions and outputs
• Articulate value propositions,
messaging, launch plans in ways that are
relevant and compelling for customers
• Maximise impact of launch and ongoing
marketing efforts
Customer insight opportunities
• Test marketing messages and ideas
with evangelists and fans
• Compare with competitive offerings and
prioritise/emphasise most important
features
• Develop pre-awareness and excitement
in market
• Immediately capture and act on
feedback Page no.

19. Day-to-day
Key stage actions and outputs
• Continual refinement and improvement
of product and messaging
Customer insight opportunities
• Engage your target audience and
transform them into evangelists
• Alert customers of new features
• Listen to what people say about your
product and act on this
• Develop your audience into evangelists
• Keep abreast of market or industry
changes
Page no.

20. Panel interview
Steven Noble Natalie Rowland Adrian Ewart
Senior Analyst Qualitative Specialist Head of Consulting and
Forester Research Red Rollers Research Analytics
@Steven_noble @redrollers Veda Advantage
@forrester
Page no.

21. Your questions for the panel Page no.

22. Focus on satisfying customers
Page no.

23. Upcoming events
Product Camp Melbourne
July 3
Strategic Product Management Training (4-day course)
Melbourne – July 8/9 and 15/16
Sydney – July 22/23 and 29/30
Agile Product Management Excellence (1-day course)
Melbourne – July 5
Sydney – September 7
Melbourne – September 9
Page no.

24. Stay connected
twitter.com/brainmates
brainmates – product management
people
brainmates.com.au
• E-muse monthly newsletter
• brainrants blog
Page no.
24

25. Page no.