Forget the Funnel: A Customer-Led Approach for Driving Predictable, Recurring Revenue
von Georgiana Laudi
How are you using [product name] day-to-day? When did you first start using [product name]? Okay, so with that timeline in mind, take me back to life before [product name]. Prior to [product name], what were you using instead? If you were using a combination of any tools or products, what were those? Tell me about the moment you realized [old way] wasn’t cutting it. What caused that moment? What compelled you to look for something different? Where did you go to look for new solutions? Did you try anything else before [product name]? How did you find out about [product name]? Why did you decide to choose [product name] over other options? Can you recall anything that stood out to you? When you signed up for [product name], what happened that made you feel certain it was the right solution for you? Now that you have [product name], what’s the number one thing you’re able to do that you weren’t able to do before? What do you wish [product name] did that it doesn’t do today? The team went from focusing on customers’ presumed pain to their real pain. They went from believing which features created value for customers, to knowing which features created value. This allowed them to plan which features to introduce second, third, fourth, and beyond. They could leverage their invoicing and payment processing as a gateway feature to the rest of their suite of features. Marketing became more of a curated, coursed meal than a super buffet.
Customer research may sound daunting or time consuming, but here’s the thing: you can’t afford not to take this time. Your team implementing inefficient, ineffective tactics is already wasting time. If you don’t act now, your team will continue wasting time, effort, and resources. They’ll continue to burn out or even quit. Chaos will continue to reign.
Before we can decide how we want to introduce our solution to potential customers, we need to be clear on how our product helps them solve their problem. We call this the Value Realization milestone: it’s when everything clicks into place for them, and it’s your best indicator that they’ve felt value and will likely become a paying customer.
Neither demographic data nor product data tell you what’s inside customers’ heads. Instead, you want to create a documentary of your best customer’s journey: from the struggle, to the search for solutions, to finding your product, to trying it, to buying it and being so happy that someone would now have to pry it from their hands.
Use the CX map to guide annual and quarterly planning. Every department’s annual or quarterly plan should state what customer Job and milestone their work supports, and which KPI will be impacted as a result. This limits random projects or tactics that eat up time and resources but don’t contribute to the big picture.
Customer research is your best tool to drive customer-led growth—when you have customers to get insight from. When you’re launching a new product, or suddenly need to pivot, like Paytouch, or when you don’t yet have enough pry-it-from-my-hands customers, audience research is your ticket.
"How are you using [product name] day-to-day? When did you first start using [product name]? Okay, so with that timeline in mind, take me back to life before [product name]. Prior to [product name], what were you using instead? If you were using a combination of any tools or products, what were those? Tell me about the moment you realized [old way] wasn’t cutting it. What caused that moment? What compelled you to look for something different? Where did you go to look for new solutions? Did you try anything else before [product name]? How did you find out about [product name]? Why did you decide to choose [product name] over other options? Can you recall anything that stood out to you? When you signed up for [product name], what happened that made you feel certain it was the right solution for you? Now that you have [product name], what’s the number one thing you’re able to do that you weren’t able to do before? What do you wish [product name] did that it doesn’t do today?"
"The team went from focusing on customers’ presumed pain to their real pain. They went from believing which features created value for customers, to knowing which features created value. This allowed them to plan which features to introduce second, third, fourth, and beyond. They could leverage their invoicing and payment processing as a gateway feature to the rest of their suite of features. Marketing became more of a curated, coursed meal than a super buffet."
"Take me back to life before [product name]. Prior to [product name], what were you using instead? If you were using a combination of any tools or products, what were those? Tell me about the moment you realized [old way] wasn’t cutting it. What caused that moment? What compelled you to look for something different? Where did you go to look for new solutions? Did you try anything else before [product name]?"
"Customer research may sound daunting or time consuming, but here’s the thing: you can’t afford not to take this time. Your team implementing inefficient, ineffective tactics is already wasting time. If you don’t act now, your team will continue wasting time, effort, and resources. They’ll continue to burn out or even quit. Chaos will continue to reign."
"Before we can decide how we want to introduce our solution to potential customers, we need to be clear on how our product helps them solve their problem. We call this the Value Realization milestone: it’s when everything clicks into place for them, and it’s your best indicator that they’ve felt value and will likely become a paying customer."
"Neither demographic data nor product data tell you what’s inside customers’ heads. Instead, you want to create a documentary of your best customer’s journey: from the struggle, to the search for solutions, to finding your product, to trying it, to buying it and being so happy that someone would now have to pry it from their hands."
"Use the CX map to guide annual and quarterly planning. Every department’s annual or quarterly plan should state what customer Job and milestone their work supports, and which KPI will be impacted as a result. This limits random projects or tactics that eat up time and resources but don’t contribute to the big picture."
- →Use the CX map to guide annual and quarterly planning. Every department’s annual or quarterly plan should state what customer Job and milestone their work supports, and which KPI will be impacted as a result. This limits random projects or tactics that eat up time and resources but don’t contribute to the big picture.
- →No matter what format you use to gather customer data (interviews, surveys, etc. ), the goal is the same: build a storyboard of customers’ real, step-by-step experience, from life before they ever knew they needed your product to the ongoing value and growth they’re now enjoying.
- →Teresa Torres, Product Discovery Coach, says: “Because maps help us externalize our ideas and relieve our working memory, we often uncover unintended consequences of our ideas—which can lead to better ideas.”
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