"Why would somebody use this product, and what is the circumstance under which they're trying to make a decision? How did they become aware that they have a problem that they need to solve, and then when they do that, where do they look for solutions, and how they do they assess whether or not a solution is good for them?” These questions are critical for any good product leader to understand and subsequently address. It’s foundational to your product strategy. And at the end of the day, you need to ensure you create value for your customer. It’s important to take the time to get into the head of your target customer. When organizations assume they already know what has to be done, they can ultimately lose sight of why these product experiences are being created in the first place. But it’s important not to forget that your internal stakeholders are your customers too. The nature of your role as a product leader requires you to know a bit about all the other cross-functional areas in order to ultimately deliver value to them as well.

1. Empathizing with Your
Customers
The Role it Plays in Product Strategy

2. #StrategicMomentum

3. PRINCIPLE ONE:
Whether you are in Marketing or
Product, what you do needs to center
on the customer.

4. Foundation: Asking the Right Questions
October 2017 Empathizing with Your Customers with Jim Gregoire | Flywheel Associates 4
• Questions are critical for any good product leader to understand
and subsequently address:
1. Why would somebody use this product?
2. What is the circumstance under which they're trying to make a decision?
3. How did they become aware that they have a problem that they need to
solve?
4. Where do they look for solutions?
5. How they do they assess whether or not a solution is good for them?
• This is foundational to your product strategy.

5. Why is Product Strategy Important?
• An effective product strategy
addresses the needs and pain your
target audience is experiencing.
• Product strategy is critical to get the
company wide buy-in you need to
develop the product.
• The strategy serves as a
communications device to help
convince stakeholders to provide
the resources you need to deliver
against your customer’s needs.
5October 2017 Empathizing with Your Customers with Jim Gregoire | Flywheel Associates

6. What People are Getting Wrong
• The downfall of many product strategies is that they aren’t
customer-centric.
• Rather they reflect an internal bias – it’s what the stakeholders
believe their customers needs and challenges are.
• It’s important to take the time to get into the head of your target
customer.
• When organizations assume they already know what has to be
done, they can ultimately lose sight of why these product
experiences are being created in the first place.
6October 2017 Empathizing with Your Customers with Jim Gregoire | Flywheel Associates

7. #StrategicMomentum

8. The Key to Product Strategy: Empathy
October 2017 Empathizing with Your Customers with Jim Gregoire | Flywheel Associates 8
• As a product leader, your job is understanding and empathizing
with your customer.
• If you can’t, you will struggle with translating their needs into the
right product strategy and find it more difficult to justify it.
• And at the end of the day, you need to ensure you create value
for your customer.

9. #StrategicMomentum

10. Understanding Your Customers’ Pain Points
• Empathizing with your customer
means getting to the epicenter of
what the pain is and making sure
that you fully understand it
yourself.
• It’s about having an appreciation for
their view of the world and seeking
out experiences that would serve
as good reference points for
context.
10October 2017 Empathizing with Your Customers with Jim Gregoire | Flywheel Associates

11. Creating Value Through Data & Learning
• Your job as a product person is to build habitual behavior through
the products/services you offer that inherently delivers value for
your target audience.
• This requires having ongoing dialogue while continuously monitoring
and measuring how your product is performing against their needs
and expectations.
• Never take your eyes off customer feedback. It’s critical.
• With the market changing regularly, you run the risk of your
assumptions getting stale. To be competitive, you have to be in touch
with your audience.
11October 2017 Empathizing with Your Customers with Jim Gregoire | Flywheel Associates

12. #StrategicMomentum

13. Don’t Forget Internal Stakeholders
• Internal stakeholders are your
customers, too. The nature of
your role as a product leader
requires you to know
cross-functional areas in order to
ultimately deliver value.
• You have to think and act like a
partner, which enables you to
connect the dots across all
functions and assist/lead your
stakeholders.
13October 2017 Empathizing with Your Customers with Jim Gregoire | Flywheel Associates

14. Tune in to STRATEGIC MOMENTUM PODCAST to hear from more guests like Jim!
About Jim Gregoire
Jim is the Chief Product Officer at Openbay,
an award-winning online marketplace for auto
repair and provider of SaaS-based offerings
for the auto care industry. Before
transitioning to product development
leadership roles, Jim spent a good portion of
his career in marketing, where he began his
focus on identifying and understanding the
target audience.
Resources:
● Connect with Jim on LinkedIn
● Learn more about Openbay

15. To learn how we can create momentum for your
business, contact us at info@flywheelassociates.com
STRATEGICMOMENTUM.CO/EPISODES/7

16. SUBSCRIBE ON
APPLE PODCASTS
SUBSCRIBE ON
STITCHER
SUBSCRIBE ON
GOOGLE PLAY
SUBSCRIBE ON
SPOTIFY
VISIT OUR
HOME ON
THE WEB
Find Us Wherever You Listen to Podcasts