Customer Focus

Customer focus is hard. It’s so easy to slip back into introspection when we should be design thinking. Here are two examples I came across…

Customer focus is hard. It’s so easy to slip back into introspection when we should be design thinking. Here are two examples I came across recently.

Case Study #1
I have a “smart” thermostat that’s connected to the internet and can be controlled by an app. So far, so good.

When I interact with my thermostat, it’s usually because I feel too hot or too cold. That’s the job to be done: Warm me up, or cool me down.

But the default mode of the interface is focused on the current temperature and the timer program. To me, this is introspective: It reflects the designer’s understanding of the system, not the user.

I would love to be prompted “Are you hot or cold?” and get prompted with “Ok! Where are you feeling cold?” a see list of my zones. Now we raise the temp in that zone by 2° for an hour, then we send a push notification asking if I’m feeling warm enough and if I wants to make the change permanent.

Wow, I would feel so understood if my thermostat did this.

Case Study #2
Famed designer Massimo Vignelli famously said “If you can design one thing, you can design everything.” I think what he meant is that if you create a system for approaching a problem, you have created a tool you can use on almost anything.

So what happens if I apply customer focus to the message on a postcard I got from a brand I love. They’re a marketplace for indie-designed digitally printed shoes:

“We have revolutionized the footwear industry through our proprietary digital printing technology and our environmentally-friendly and scalable manufacturing process.”

This seems introspective, like my thermostat. Proprietary technology? Revolutionized the industry? On a postcard? Sir, this is a Wendy’s!

We’re all very proud of Netflix, but they don’t crow to us about how they’ve revolutionized Hollywood. Because we don’t care. We care about what’s new on Netflix!

So what’s new on this marketplace? How will it make me be more amazing? Here’s my rewrite:

“We will revolutionize your personal style by connecting you with millions of talented artists whose custom designs we digitally print on top-quality sustainable footwear, with new exclusive releases every week.”

That’s not that great, but I think it’s better. This is work for a professional marketer and copywriter, which obviously I’m not. But we’re speaking directly to the customer and we’re talking *about them*, which I think is the important thing.

In many ways, every surface of your business that connects with customers is a product surface that deserves customer focus.

Be on the lookout for introspection, and take the time to see how things look differently when you focus your attention outward.