The document outlines a user-first marketing approach focusing on empathy and understanding customer needs to achieve product/market fit. It presents a structured methodology involving research, strategy, execution, measurement, and refinement, alongside practical tips and user persona examples. The overarching theme emphasizes solving for people rather than technology, with an encouragement to pursue innovative and iterative design processes.

1. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G | Big Sky Dev Con | all rights reserved
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
Prototyping
for
Product/Market Fit

2. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
1 Overview!
Greetings + Beliefs!
!
2 Methodology!
Why + Empathy Engineering!
!
3 Activities!
Your Turn!
!
4 Hacks!
A Few Examples and Tricks
agenda

3. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
3 Things
Solve for people not technology1
2
Be ugly today to be beautiful
tomorrow.
3 Useful and elegant products help
market themselves. !

4. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
(brand nirvana)

5. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
process | methodology
Technology Cycles
A
time
B
A
time
B
Adoption Cycles
time
time

6. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
process | methodology
Why We Ignore Our Users
Technology Problem
A B
(Making Stuff Is Fun)
People Problem
(People Are Difficult)

7. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
beliefs
"When everyone can
create very quickly,
what is it that will
distinguish your
product or brand from
the rest?
!
Caring for your
customers. In order to
do that it requires you
to think from their
perspective.”
!
!
Aarron Walter, Director of User Experience, MailChimp!
Author: Design for Emotion

8. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
3 Things
Solve for people not technology1

9. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Definition: Product/Market Fit
(brand nirvana)

10. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Our 5 Steps
for Product/Market Fit
Research
Strategy
ExecutionMeasure
Refine

11. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Prototyping: Product/Market Fit
Research
Strategy
User
Persona
Execution
Prototypes
Customer
Interviews
Research

12. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Definition: Product/Market Fit

13. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Case Study: TheLowline NYC
methods

14. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Empathy Map
Tips
1. Go for quantity on ideas
2. Each user gets their
own Post-It Color
3. Think and Feel = Magic
4. As a team fill in the Ad
Libs at bottom

15. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
User Persona
!
ADAM!
!
AGE!
37!
!
LOCATION!
Manhattan!
!
JOB!
Program Officer, Doris Duke Foundation!
!
EDUCATION!
Master’s of Public Administration, Columbia
University!
B.S. in Political Science, Emory University!
“I always look at the staff. Can they pull this off? Are
they organized? What social proof do they have? Who
is on board? You wouldn’t believe the requests I’ve
seen. Show me a story and then a solid plan with
deliverables in a visual way: images, quick stats,
videos. Big ideas are okay if they follow that format.
3 Best Ways Our Site Can Help!
1. Guide Adam to the About page.!
2. Include striking visuals. videos, and “quick stats” throughout the
site!
3. Leverage community backings and previous funding raised.!
!
2 to 3 Ways He Prefers We Stay in Touch!
Phone or personal e-mail (no campaigning or additional selling
here).!
!
Content on Social He Might Like and Possibly Share!
In this case, it’s unlikely that Adam will follow us on social media
but we might brainstorm ways to thank him for the donation.!
!
Design Mission (from the Empathy Map)!
“Adam needs a way to decide if our project is worth his
donation because he doesn’t want to invest in an
illegitimate idea or group.”!
Pursued, Curious, Optimist, Skeptical!
Persona for: Adam the Funder
Words That Describe
Quote
Image credit: Daniel
Tips
1. Go for big themes
2. What pain do they
have?
3.Consider context of your
experience

16. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
User Journey
Step
Step
Step
Tips
1. Make notes on a template
to capture friction.
2. Try and use the user’s
language - huge clues for
UI here
3. Listen don’t sell
Home
About
Fund

17. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Prototypes
Tips
1. Work on riskiest
assumptions first
2. Grab screenshots when
the experience breaks
3. One more time: Listen
don’t sell
Will User’s donate?
!
Which platforms?
!
What about mobile?

18. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
3 Things
Solve for people not technology1
2
Be ugly today to be beautiful
tomorrow.
3 Useful and elegant products help
market themselves. !

19. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
How might we design an
experience that helps people
manage their professional
connections?!
question

20. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Empathy Map
“I’m super
busy and
don’t have a
ton of time to
keep up with
people I’ve
met
“I’ll just send
a generic
LinkedIn
request from
my phone”
“I think
maintaining a
strong network
is very
important - all
my big breaks
come this way”
“I feel other
people are
just much
better at
keeping up
with
colleagues”
what if the
app made it
possible to
alert the user
of movement
in their
network?
Can we blog
about
networking
tips?
Ann needs a way to easily sync and ping her network
because these habits generate her best opportunities

21. !
Ann!
!
AGE!
37!
!
LOCATION!
San Francisco, CA!
!
JOB!
VP Sales, Birchbox!
!
EDUCATION!
MBA, Columbia University!
B.S. in Political Science, Emory University!
!
HOBBIES!
Traveling with friends, yoga retreats, tango dancing.!
!
!
“I’m just so busy these days. I live on my iPhone and spend more
time on it than my laptop these days. I tend to go to a lot of events
and meet all types of people. Sometimes I remember to grab a card
and then follow-up with an email. I wish there was a simple way to
meet people and stay in touch without having to consciously think
about it.”
3 Best Ways Our Main Site Can Help!
1. Tips on how to network effectively!
2. Dead-simple photos for showing how to use the app!
3. Encouraging an online community around best practicing for maintaining a
professional network!
!
2 to 3 Ways She Prefers We Stay in Touch!
Twitter and a Facebook page. Once a month an email with valuable content
would be acceptable as well.!
!
Content on Social She Might Like and Possibly Share!
Stories around how someone helped another person through introductions or
referrals. The science of how social networks share information. Interviews with
people she admires and respects and how they juggle work/life balance.!
!
Design Mission (from the Empathy Map)!
“Ann needs a way to easily sync and ping her network because these
habits generate her best opportunities ”!
!
!
!
!
Outgoing, Hard-working, Curious, Frantic,
Persona for: Ann
Words That Describe
Quote
Image credit: See-ming Lee

22. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
User Story
Ann needs a way to easily sync and
ping her network because these
habits generate her best opportunities
Dead-simple
login via
LinkedIn
Show Ann’s
most recent
connections
Sort the
network and
set reminders
Connect
profiles to
other parts of
Ann’s social
graph
Make it
achievable for
Ann to stay
engaged

23. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Prototypes
Tips
1. Work on riskiest
assumptions first
2. Grab screenshots when
the experience breaks
3. One more time: Listen
don’t sell

24. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
User Journey
StepDashboard
Show most
recent
connections
Networth
Step Login
Welcome!
Login Below
Networth
Dead-simple
login via
LinkedIn
Step
2
Profile
Networth
1 3
Sort the
network and
set reminders
Connect
profiles to
other parts of
their social
graph
Step Bumps
Networth
Make it
achievable for
Ann to stay
engaged
Only 1 Bump Today
Go

25. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Case Study: Atlantic Public Media
methods

26. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Solve for people not technology1

27. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
2
Be ugly today to be beautiful
tomorrow.

28. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
3 Useful and elegant products help
market themselves. !

29. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Design Sprint
inspiration
http://bit.ly/1fLUrcQ

30. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Google Ventures - 5 Day Design Sprint
inspiration
http://bit.ly/1fLUrcQ
Day 1
Understand!
Dig into the
design
problem
through
research,
competitive
review, and
strategy
exercises.
Day 2
Diverge!
Rapidly
develop as
many
solutions as
possible.
Day 3
Decide!
Choose the
best ideas
and hammer
out a user
story.
Day 4
Prototype!
Build
something
quick and
dirty that can
be shown to
users.
Day 5
Validate!
Show the
prototype to
real humans
(people
outside your
company) and
learn what
works and
what doesn’t
work.

31. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
Solve for people not technology
3 Things
1
2
3
Be ugly today to be beautiful
tomorrow.
Useful and elegant products help
market themselves. !

32. U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G |
E V O L V E D I G I T A L L Y
#UsersFirst
summary
Thank
You
Empathy Builds Empires!
e: jake@tadpull.com
t: @jacobmcook
t: @TeamTadpull
U S E R F I R S T M A R K E T I N G | Big Sky Dev Con | all rights reserved