In CIS countries, CustDev is often associated with interviews that help businesses better understand the pain points of their target audience (TA). Quality feedback allows determining the true needs of users or even changing the development vector of a project. However, CustDev is not limited to just conducting interviews.
What is CustDev?
This is short for Customer Development — an approach to creating startups and IT products with a focus on identifying customer needs and adapting products to audience demand. This methodology was proposed by Steve Blank, who described it in his book "The Four Steps to the Epiphany." His method includes four key stages:
- Customer Discovery — finding customers
- Customer Validation — identifying audience needs
- Customer Creation — creating a product or service
- Company Building — developing the business around customer needs
Imagine you are creating a mobile application — a digital assistant for work and study. While the project is still at the idea stage, you need to talk to potential users. The interview will help identify their pain points and answer questions: how, why, and how often people are willing to use your app. The next stage is creating a prototype and testing it with the first users. If the hypothesis is confirmed, there is reason to create the full version of the app.
It is important to note that the listed stages use different tools, including surveys, A/B tests, communication with industry experts, and more. Deep interviews (customer conversations) are a starting point for further product development, and the quality of the answers received can determine the success of the entire project.
Who Conducts CustDev and Why?
Usually product managers work with this methodology. They use it in two cases: to assess the demand for a product and the feasibility of launching it to market, or to solve problems in an existing product.
A few more reasons to use CustDev:
- To better understand the target audience and develop customer profiles
- To verify market needs and create an in-demand product
- To determine the direction of project development and its key functionality
- To study TA expectations and correctly set priorities in product work
- To identify bottlenecks and avoid unnecessary expenses
How to Define the Target Audience
Understanding the target audience helps clearly formulate the unique selling proposition (USP) for it depending on its categories. The Customer Persona should include information about:
- Age and gender, income level
- Profession and hobbies
- Key needs and preferences, including communication channels
Example of an audience profile: Affluent people aged 27 to 45 with above-average income. They fly abroad at least once a month and experience inconvenience using multiple mobile phones as they use more than one SIM card.
If the potential audience of your product numbers from 10,000 to 100,000 users, it is sufficient to interview 10 people. But this number can vary depending on the quality of answers and insights received.
How to Prepare for a CustDev Interview?
Step 1 — Define the interview goals. For example, find out what functions potential users need and what they lack in analogues. Ideally, the in-depth interview should reveal the problems/pain points of your audience.
Step 2 — Formulate hypotheses to be tested during the conversation.
Step 3 — Compile a list of open-ended questions. Examples:
- How do you solve the problem now?
- Why does this concern you?
- What could be the consequences of this situation?
Ask only about the respondent's past experience, not the future. During the interview, it is important to find out how the market already works without you and your idea.
Step 4 — Create comfortable conditions. Choose an appropriate place and before moving to questions, start with a small conversation. Offer water and make sure no external factors will distract you.
Step 5 — Listen carefully. The goal of the CustDev interview is not to talk about the product or sell it, but to identify the pain points and needs of the interviewee. It is important not to interrupt, but at the same time to guide the conversation.
What to Do with the Research Results?
The received answers can be grouped and analyzed later. It is important to remember that it is not required to implement the requests and ideas of the interviewees exactly. It will be sufficient to offer an optimal solution based on available capabilities, starting with the creation of an MVP.
