Step-by-Step Instructions

Click to print worksheet.

Problems it Solves

1. Make your interview analysis actionable

In this exercise you will take the analysis you completed in Interview Analysis exercise, and turn it into actionable steps.

2. Create a foundation for your marketing strategy and solution design

By the end of this exercise you will have what you need to build your marketing strategy, including the copy (e.g. words) you will use and the channels you will access.

You will also have what you need to begin the solution iteration process, where you begin to test the best product to help your customers solve their problems.

Recap

From the last exercise, you have groups of Post-Its® representing the problems, emotions, channels and deficiencies in current solutions for your early adopter segment.

You are going to take those and summarize them according to 5 main areas:

• Customer Problem
• Current Solutions
• Emotions
• Channels
• Deficiencies

Note: In this exercise, you will use just one Customer Problem per worksheet.  The remaining categories will all relate to that Problem that emerged from your interview analysis.

If more than one problem consistently arose during your interviews, complete this exercise multiple times, using one worksheet per problem.

Synthesize Your Customers' Problems

In this exercise, I will be using examples from the creation of the FOCUS Framework. Like the business you are working to create, this series of workbooks is the direct result using this process to understand the problems of my own early adopters.

You know the FOCUS Framework works, because you are reading it. Now you'll discover how it happened.

Below, you will see the problems, current solutions, emotions, channels and deficiencies that emerged from interviewing Lean Startup founders.

Step 1

Choose one problem that emerged as a high priority for your customers. Write a statement in the first box, using the words of your customers. Use the Post-Its® to help you come up with a condensed statement that stays as close to their words as possible.

In my case, the problem I heard over and over was "there is so much information out their on starting a company, I don't know what to do next."

Be careful not to combine problems. There should not be any "ands" in this statement. Choose one consistent, salient problem that emerged from your analysis. If there is a secondary problem, you can use a second sheet.

Focus on one problem at a time. If you try to solve too many problems at once, you will end up solving none well.

In my example, my early adopter customer interviews revealed a second significant problem: "there is no one to keep me accountable." While this is also interesting to me, it is important to keep it separate so that I can solve the first problem really, really well. Later on, I can build a solution for the secondary problem.

Step 2

Next, write in the current solutions your customers are using to solve the problem you listed in Step 1.

In this step, you will write in the solutions that your customers stated they are pursuing, as well as ones you have observed.

For example, my customers reported that they were enrolling in programs such as Founders Institute or the Foundation, and they had bought books on the subject.

Interestingly, many of the customer interviews I conducted were within the context of a mentoring call. Founders often call me for mentorship, and I would often conduct an interview after the end of our mentoring session.

Interestingly, when I asked founders what steps they were taking to try and solve their problems, they rarely stated "seek out mentoring" despite the fact we had just had a mentoring call. Since I was able to observe a solution-seeking behavior (e.g. requesting a mentoring call), I wrote in down as one of the Current Solutions.

If you observe your customers using any solutions they aren't self-reporting, go ahead and write them in here.

Step 3

Now write down the emotions that emerged directly related to the problem you wrote in Step 1.

In my case, the overwhelming feeling that my customers referenced, was "overwhelmed."

You may have more than one for your customers, but in my case it was clear, "overwhelmed" was the most common sentiment.

Step 4

Next, write in the Channels. These are the places where your customers are currently looking for solutions to the problem in Step 1. Again, you will take these directly from your Post-It® clouds.

This process is driven directly from the data you collected in your interviews.

In my example, I learned that my customers were looking for solutions in a few different places. First, I knew they were using my blog as a resource. This is great to know because it's a channel that I know better than anyone.

Second, they talked about using programs such as Founders Institute. This is interesting because it's possible to see programs such as Founders Institute as competitors, but in this case it is actually a complimentary service. If I can partner with them, I may be able to reach my customers more effectively.

Finally, I learned that they are using Facebook to find answers to their problem of what to do next. This channel is ripe with opportunities as people are finding a lot of information through Facebook, as well as sharing information they find with others.

Step 5

Now, write in the Deficiencies, or what is not optimal about their current solution. Again, you will look for your customers' words from your Post-Its® clouds that relate directly to the problem in Step 1.

In my example, I heard over and over that there is a lot of theory out there, but very little on "how to practice the theories." I also heard that while there is a lot of information out there, founders wished for more accountability to help them stay on track.

What's Next

That's it! You now have the information you need from your interviews to take actionable steps. The worksheet you just completed outlines the foundation for your marketing copy and how to begin designing your solution.

Perhaps you are starting to see your solution emerge: if you combine the problem, current solutions and the deficiencies of those solutions together, you may begin to see your own, better solution emerging.

If you combine together the problem with the emotions and the channels, you begin to see the marketing strategy for reaching your customers and getting their attention.

Feel free to go back and repeat the Problem Synthesis exercise with another significant problem that emerged from your Interview Analysis. But remember, the more focused you are, the better your product will be.

You are now ready to put together your marketing plan and your solution design, which you'll do in the next chapters!