This document discusses customer development and how to validate ideas with customers. It recommends: 1) Conducting customer development in parallel with product development to discover customer needs and develop reference customers. 2) Using tools like customer empathy maps and value proposition canvases to document initial customer profiles and hypotheses about pains, gains, and solutions. 3) Testing hypotheses through experiments with target customers and MVPs to validate or invalidate ideas, gaining feedback to refine understanding and concepts.

1. 1
Customer Development
How to Understand, Empathize And Validate Ideas
With Your Customers
Created by: Jacob Nielson
Inspired by: Steve Blank, Marty Cagan & Alex
Osterwalder, et al

2. 2
“No facts exist inside the
building, only opinions.”
Steve Blank

3. WHAT IS CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT?
• The process of documenting,
experimenting and refining
your understanding of your
customer and their needs
• Throughout the process your
customer does not change
but your concept of who your
customer is in your mind
does
3

4. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT SHOULD HAPPEN IN
PARALLEL TO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
The idea is to discover and develop a set of reference customers
in parallel with discovering and developing the product.
4
Product Development
Customer Development
Getting
out of the
building
First Concept of
the Customer
Additional Insight
About Them
Breakthrough Insight Real Reference
Customer -
Earlyvangelist

5. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
• Team of 3 to 5 people
– Product manager; engineering lead; designer or researcher
• Identify 6-8 Earlyvangelist Customers (B2B; 15-20 if B2C)
• Customer Benefits
– Get a great solution to their problems
– Early and significant product input
– Early access
• Discovery Team Benefits
– Users and Customers available for ongoing questions
– Available for on-site visits
– Agreement to deploy test version provide timely feedback
– Agreement to serve as reference, if happy with delivered product
5

6. USE THE CUSTOMER EMPATHY MAP TO DO INITIAL
CUSTOMER DISCOVERY INTERVIEWS
6
• Use for initial
customer
interviews
• Document the
customer’s job to
be done, pains and
gains, what they
think and feel, what
they see, what they
say and do and
what they hear

7. USE VALUE PROPOSITION DESIGN TO DOCUMENT AND
EXPERIMENT ON YOUR CUSTOMER HYPOTHESES
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Note: Pain killers only, no vitamins
Solution Canvas Customer Profile Canvas
Value Proposition Canvas

8. 10 MIN EXERCISE: BRAINSTORM CUSTOMER PROFILES
8
Customer Job, Pains & Gains
• Brainstorm your initial
concept of an Earlyvangelist
customer
• List
– Their job to be done
– Their pains
– Ways they achieve gains

9. USE EXPERIMENTS TO VALIDATE / INVALIDATE EACH
CUSTOMER HYPOTHESES
9
Document your customer hypotheses, choose the valid/invalid
criteria, decide a procedure and document results
Validate or
InvalidateGet new
clients
Feel
awkward
networking
New
clients call
me

10. USE EXPERIMENTS TO VALIDATE / INVALIDATE EACH
CUSTOMER HYPOTHESES
10
Document your customer hypotheses, choose the valid/invalid
criteria, decide a procedure and document results
Validate or
InvalidateGet new
clients
Feel
awkward
networking
New
clients call
me
X Post on
Social
Media

11. 10 MIN EXERCISE: BRAINSTORM SOLUTIONS
11
Products and Services
• Brainstorm your initial
concept of a solution for your
Earlyvangelist
• List
– The solution title
– Pain relievers
– Gain creators

12. USE EXPERIMENTS TO VALIDATE / INVALIDATE EACH
SOLUTION HYPOTHESES
12
Document your solution hypotheses, choose the valid/invalid
criteria, decide a procedure and document results
Validate or
Invalidate
Automated
Posts
New Client
Referral
Engine
Social
Media
Leads

13. USE MVP TESTS TO VALIDATE PRODUCT IDEAS WITH
TARGET CUSTOMERS
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Problem: People are bad at predicting what they want. Saving Grace: People are good at reacting to things that exist
6 Main Test Types Include:
Landing Page Fake Door Video Testing
Concierge Testing Wizard of Oz Testing Prototypes (Low, Med, High Fidelity)

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10 MIN EXERCISE: DEVISE AN EXPERIMENT TO TEST
YOUR HYPOTHESIS
Video Testing
Validate or
Invalidate

15. IF THE FEEDBACK IS BELOW A 9 OR 10, DON’T TRUST IT
• When Testing Customer Pain
Hypotheses:
– Ask “On a scale of 0-10, how big of a
pain is this to you?”
• When Testing Solution
Hypotheses
– Ask “On a scale of 0-10, how likely
are you to purchase this solution?”
• Anything below a 9 or 10 isn’t
worth much
– If the solution is mediocre or the pain
mild/non-existent, most people will
tell you a mid-range number like 3-7
to be nice and not hurt your feelings
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9 or 10 8 & Below

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“You don’t get the answer from
any one user test, but every
test provides another piece of
the puzzle.”
Google