This document provides guidance on understanding customers by putting problems in their own words, learning about their lives and values, and talking to them directly. It includes worksheets to help identify target customers, draft communication templates, develop interview questions, set goals for customer research, and analyze competitors. The overall goal is to gain meaningful customer insights in order to create effective solutions that meet real needs.

1. Who is your customer? Personas + Action Plan
Put the problem in your customer’s words. Understand their life, values, and decision-making process. Talk to them, confirm, and gain insights.
1 case studies & use their words 2 persona 3 context & ideation 4 questions & strategy
Intention: What’s your question? What would you like to takeaway from today?
Case study Insights: Knowing your customer is important. There
are “wrong” problems, people, strategies, times. There are prob-lems
with no customers.There are more segments and insights
easily accessible than you might think. What did you learn?
Homework insights: Insights from Homejoy on understanding
your industry, how to get in their shoes, how you fit into their life?
Insights from how to receive and digest feedback?
Use their words: How do people who have your target problem talk about it? Do they know about it yet? Try a few different versions.
Objective/Subjective: What did you take away about questions, observation, and human interaction from this exercise?
Open space: did you come up with a question or insight beyond the scope above? Add it here!
Worksheet created by Angela Ognev (angela@redesignhappy.com).
Please enjoy, share, adapt, and credit.
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2. Who is your customer? Personas + Action Plan
Put the problem in your customer’s words. Understand their life, values, and decision-making process. Talk to them, confirm, and gain insights.
1 case studies & use their words 2 persona 3 context & ideation 4 questions & strategy
workaround/sub competitor
workaround/sub competitor
workaround/sub competitor
workaround/sub competitor
workaround/sub competitor
workaround/sub competitor
Assumptions: What assumptions have you made about the user,
customer, company? What do you want to know more about?
Search: Where can you find customers to talk to? Which places,
forums, listings, friends, etc? What will you look for?
Context: What were your customers doing before they met you?
Values: What are their values? What is improtant to them and how do they show it? Give a specific example.
Open space: did you come up with a question or insight beyond the scope above? Add it here!
Worksheet created by Angela Ognev (angela@redesignhappy.com).
Please enjoy, share, adapt, and credit.

3. Who is your customer? Personas + Action Plan
Put the problem in your customer’s words. Understand their life, values, and decision-making process. Talk to them, confirm, and gain insights.
1 case studies & use their words 2 persona 3 context & ideation 4 questions & strategy
People: Who will you talk to? How? Why? (Or, who will you ask a friend to put you in touch with?)
NAME (or job description) EMAIL/CALL (contact method) WHY (what can you learn, explore more, confirm, etc from them?
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Copy draft 1: Who is this directed towards? _______________________________
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Notes: consider the goal of this message.
consider how well you know them. Ask
for help and insight. Watch out for steer-ing.
Note words/phrases:
Worksheet created by Angela Ognev (angela@redesignhappy.com).
Please enjoy, share, adapt, and credit.

4. Who is your customer? Personas + Action Plan
Put the problem in your customer’s words. Understand their life, values, and decision-making process. Talk to them, confirm, and gain insights.
1 case studies & use their words 2 persona 3 context & ideation 4 questions & strategy, pt 2
Copy draft 2: Who’s this for? __________________________________
Notes: consider the goal of this message.
consider how well you know them. Ask for
help and insight. Watch out for steering.
Note words/phrases:
Finalize questions: What do you want to get more context on, confirm, price, understand etc? (Or, what will you google?)
QUESTION (write it in a way that you can ask it) ASK/GOOGLE INSIGHTS (fill this part in later)
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CREATE YOUR GOALS! When will you have emailed, called, met up with, researched, learned from, and made notes for your business?
By _____________________________, I will have done ______________________________________________________________________________________________________.
By _____________________________, I will have done ______________________________________________________________________________________________________.
To do: Learn about your competitiors. Google the problems and solutions that you are working with. Record your findings:
1. Name:
Strength:
2. Name:
Strength:
3. Name:
Strength:
Worksheet created by Angela Ognev (angela@redesignhappy.com).
Please enjoy, share, adapt, and credit.