Challenge & Selection

I work for a research and development lab for a company that specializes in making

temperature control equipment, and one of our goals is finding new applications of temperature  control in new markets and products. Once we’ve found a potential avenue to pursue, our next  step is to find potential users and speak with them to determine if there exists an opportunity for  us to work with them. While eventually we’ll have one on one interviews with potential users, we  first need to identify who our users are and intuit insights about their experiences.

After initial research into what pain points exist for the cohort of users, we construct

avatars that are potentially representative of one or more typical users. From there, we talk with  users in any setting we can: on the job, at a conference, through social media. What we want is  to determine how firm our grasp of the user is via the avatar. To that end, we will start by  describing to a potential user what we believe to be our avatar’s experience with the product,  service, or process that the user also uses or participates in. From there we have a discussion  about their experiences and their pain points and how similar or dissimilar theirs are compared  to the avatar. From there we can organically have discussions that lead to us determining what  solution can be developed that

What we’ve found is that how we convey to the potential user the experience of the

avatar is critical to having engaging dialogue with them. Storytelling is the way we engage with  someone and form a connection with them in order to convey information to them effectively. A  simple presentation may seem like an efficient way to deliver information to a customer, like  product features and the value proposition it brings to them. But people don’t engage very well  with a dry presentation like that. And when trying to bring people on board with our mission, we  need to get them to want to participate. And that’s where good storytelling is crucial to our work.    Application

On a previous project, we were trying to find users of the prototype that we were actively

developing. Our first attempt to reach out to people involved preparing flyers detailing the  features of the product, how it could fit in their lives, and how they could contact us to be part of  our trial launch. We went to an event and approached people, flyers in hand, only to come away  empty handed and with no one willing to participate. We realized after that we had completely  failed to connect with people on an emotional level, and instead alienated them.

After that failure, we reassessed our approach. One of our engineers had a relative that

was a potential user of the product. And so after a conversation with them, we created an avatar  of a typical user of the product, based on the person we talked with. With that avatar at our  disposal, we tried again with much increasing success. By recounting the story of the avatar to  others, we were able use that as a jumping board to spur further conversation. People could  identify with the avatar, at least in part, and by them telling us how similar their experience was,  they further opened up about the kind of problems they were having and together we could  come up with what qualities and features a solution would need to suit their situation. Each  discussion allowed us to refine the avatar, as well as come up with additional ones.    Insight

By making our process more human focused, people opened up to use more readily,

were more willing to participate in the tests and trials we ran, and most importantly they became  invested in the success of the project, some even reaching out to us for updates and asking  how else they can help.

What surprised us was that having the avatar as a vehicle not only made it easier to

connect with people, but just having it at all was enough to get them engaged. We weren’t very  skilled at the start with telling the story, but having the story at all made it easier. By refining our  technique, we found we didn't need a very elaborate story, just one that was easier to identify  with. Clearly laying out the experience of the avatar was all we really needed to get people on  board with us.    Approach

We are attempting a similar approach with our upcoming projects: creating avatars of

what we suspect are typical users. With the current environment, however, we are facing  challenges in telling the story. While we could tell the story of an avatar in a couple minutes in  person, a different approach is needed with more remote methods of communication.

We’re trying to adapt the method to be used in online forums and via phone calls. Except

while it’s relatively easy to reach out to people at events, since it’s expected behavior, reaching  out to people online or through cold and warm calling has different expectations. Online is  proving exceptionally challenging, since it’s harder to make sure we stay on track in an  asynchronistic messaging platform.


Challenge & Selection I work for a research and development lab for a company that specializes in making temperature control equipment , and one of our goals is finding new applications of temperature control in new markets and products . Once we ’ve found a potential avenue to pursue , our next step is to find potential users and speak with them to determine if there exists an opportunity for us to work with them . While eventually we ’ll have one on one interviews with potential users , we first need to identify who our users are and intuit insights about their experiences . After initial research into what pain points exist for the cohort of users , we construct avatars that are potentially representative of one or more typical users . From there , we talk with users in any setting we can : on the job , at a conference , through social media . What we want is to determine how firm our grasp of the user is via the avatar . To that end , we will start by describing to a potential user what we believe to be our avatar ’s experience with the product , service , or process that the user also uses or participates in . From there we have a discussion about their experiences and their pain points and how similar or dissimilar theirs are compared to the avatar . From there we can organically have discussions that lead to us determining what solution can be developed that What we ’ve found is that how we convey to the potential user the experience of the avatar is critical to having engaging dialogue with them . Storytelling is the way we engage with someone and form a connection with them in order to convey information to them effectively . A simple presentation may seem like an efficient way to deliver information to a customer , like product features and the value proposition it brings to them . But people do n’t engage very well with a dry presentation like that . And when trying to bring people on board with our mission , we need to get them to want to participate . And that ’s where good storytelling is crucial to our work . Application On a previous project , we were trying to find users of the prototype that we were actively developing . Our first attempt to reach out to people involved preparing flyers detailing the features of the product , how it could fit in their lives , and how they could contact us to be part of our trial launch . We went to an event and approached people , flyers in hand , only to come away empty handed and with no one willing to participate . We realized after that we had completely failed to connect with people on an emotional level , and instead alienated them . After that failure , we reassessed our approach . One of our engineers had a relative that was a potential user of the product . And so after a conversation with them , we created an avatar of a typical user of the product , based on the person we talked with . With that avatar at our disposal , we tried again with much increasing success . By recounting the story of the avatar to others , we were able use that as a jumping board to spur further conversation . People could identify with the avatar , at least in part , and by them telling us how similar their experience was , they further opened up about the kind of problems they were having and together we could come up with what qualities and features a solution would need to suit their situation . Each discussion allowed us to refine the avatar , as well as come up with additional ones . Insight By making our process more human focused , people opened up to use more readily , were more willing to participate in the tests and trials we ran , and most importantly they became invested in the success of the project , some even reaching out to us for updates and asking how else they can help . What surprised us was that having the avatar as a vehicle not only made it easier to connect with people , but just having it at all was enough to get them engaged . We were n’t very skilled at the start with telling the story , but having the story at all made it easier . By refining our technique , we found we did n't need a very elaborate story , just one that was easier to identify with . Clearly laying out the experience of the avatar was all we really needed to get people on board with us . Approach We are attempting a similar approach with our upcoming projects : creating avatars of what we suspect are typical users . With the current environment , however , we are facing challenges in telling the story . While we could tell the story of an avatar in a couple minutes in person , a different approach is needed with more remote methods of communication . We ’re trying to adapt the method to be used in online forums and via phone calls . Except while it ’s relatively easy to reach out to people at events , since it ’s expected behavior , reaching out to people online or through cold and warm calling has different expectations . Online is proving exceptionally challenging , since it ’s harder to make sure we stay on track in an asynchronistic messaging platform .