Reflections on Design Thinking Tools

Challenge

It's not easy to get your brand heard and entice customers. This was the challenge I faced  when asked to assist a company in better understanding their customers' needs.  The company was a social media marketing agency(SMMA), and their email marketing  campaign failed miserably. Despite using email templates from other successful businesses  in their niche, their open email rate was terrible despite tweaking their email templates to  speak to their clients. After conducting my research and diagnosing their problem, I  discovered that they were unfamiliar with their customers. To solve this problem, I decided  to use Mind Mapping.    Selection

Mind Mapping was the ideal design tool for solving this problem because it allowed me to  brainstorm ideas, identify knowledge gaps, and identify their customer persona.  I'll explain how Mind Mapping works for those who don't know. The main idea serves as the  starting point for your Mind Map and represents the topic you'll be delving into. This topic  should be in the center of your page and should include an image or color that corresponds  to the subject of your Mind Map. Because our brains respond better to visual stimuli, this  draws attention and triggers associations. Taking the time to personalize your central idea,  whether it's hand-drawn or created digitally, will help you form a stronger bond with the  information in your Mind Map.  Adding branches is the next step in getting your creative juices flowing. The key themes are  the main branches that flow from the central image. By adding child branches, you can  delve deeper into the themes. The beauty of Mind Maps is that you can keep adding new  branches and aren't limited to a limited number of options. As you add more ideas to your  Mind Map, it will naturally expand as your brain makes new connections between the  various concepts.  You must include a key idea when adding a branch to your Mind Map. Keep this idea as  short as possible; compared to longer, more complex phrases, this will allow you to make a  greater number of associations.  If you put 'Summer garden party in July' on a branch, for example, you're limited to the  details of the party you've just mentioned. Suppose you break this down into a few  keywords (for example, 'summer' and 'garden party,.' You can expand the possibilities for  each branch by using a variety of keywords. Presents, cake, and pavilion are some examples.

For chunking information into core topics and themes, limiting words to key phrases on  each branch also works well. The use of keywords activates neural connections in your  brain, allowing you to remember more information.  Mind Mapping promotes whole-brain thinking by combining various cortical skills ranging  from logical and numerical to creative and unique. The combination of these abilities makes  your brain more synergetic and allows it to function at its best. Separating these cortical  skills from one another does not aid brain development, which a Mind Map aims to achieve.    Application

You'd only be scratching the surface of your Customer Mind Map by relying solely on your  biases and perceptions. Actively gather data to test or expand your understanding of your  target customer.  There are a variety of places where you can get this information:    Executives at the company    The salesforce    Customer Service Representatives    Feedback from current customers on the company's services    Conduct customer surveys via email to learn how they feel about the brand, competitors,  beliefs, and way of life.    Inquire about which social media influencers customers follow, and use analytical tools to  track customer behavior on the company's website.    After researching my client's niche, B2B SaaS(Software as a Service) I began mapping out my  customer persona.   I began by placing the company owner in the Map's center and defining his pain points,  which included "struggling to consistently find clients in a predictable manner." From there,  I began to branch out, and using the information I had gathered previously; I was able to  outline:  His ambitions in terms of his business  His geographical location, professional background, and educational background  His social media platforms, as well as any social media influencers or pages he may follow,  as well as his quirks and preferences. Business jargon and any visual preferences are  examples of things to consider.

They have different personality types. Are they leaders, are they logical or emotional, are  they cautious or spontaneous, and so on?  Their working conditions. They have daily work routines, etc. What is the structure of their  business?  Any industry trends in his field of work?  How do they usually deal with customers?    Insights

After organizing all of this data, I created a Customer Persona for my client.    Name Anthony Johnson.  Title: Founder and CEO of the company  Decision-maker: Yes  Industry: Software and technology.  Age: 30 years old  Salary: $30 000 a year  Employees: Over 20  Education: Bachelor's degree in computer science  Goals: Generate a consistent and predictable stream of clients for his Saas products on a  monthly subscription basis.  We assist in the following ways: Create a sales funnel and use Facebook Ads Marketing to  drive traffic to Anthony's products.  Messaging Strategy: Reach out to Anthony via cold email and use email copy that directly  addresses his lack of sales skills and how we can get him clients more consistently and  predictably, allowing him to focus on creating solutions for his customers.    Approach

With these insights, my SMMA client created a successful cold email outreach strategy that  addressed the pain points of their potential and current customers. They increased their  open email rate from 11 percent to 32 percent in just two months, exceeding their sales  targets by more than 50 percent.  Overall, both my client and I were happy with their newfound success. Reflecting on the  experience, I can confidently state that Mind Mapping is a powerful tool for brainstorming  and processing information that can assist an entrepreneur in meeting any design  challenges.


Reflections on Design Thinking Tools Challenge It 's not easy to get your brand heard and entice customers . This was the challenge I faced when asked to assist a company in better understanding their customers ' needs . The company was a social media marketing agency(SMMA ) , and their email marketing campaign failed miserably . Despite using email templates from other successful businesses in their niche , their open email rate was terrible despite tweaking their email templates to speak to their clients . After conducting my research and diagnosing their problem , I discovered that they were unfamiliar with their customers . To solve this problem , I decided to use Mind Mapping . Selection Mind Mapping was the ideal design tool for solving this problem because it allowed me to brainstorm ideas , identify knowledge gaps , and identify their customer persona . I 'll explain how Mind Mapping works for those who do n't know . The main idea serves as the starting point for your Mind Map and represents the topic you 'll be delving into . This topic should be in the center of your page and should include an image or color that corresponds to the subject of your Mind Map . Because our brains respond better to visual stimuli , this draws attention and triggers associations . Taking the time to personalize your central idea , whether it 's hand - drawn or created digitally , will help you form a stronger bond with the information in your Mind Map . Adding branches is the next step in getting your creative juices flowing . The key themes are the main branches that flow from the central image . By adding child branches , you can delve deeper into the themes . The beauty of Mind Maps is that you can keep adding new branches and are n't limited to a limited number of options . As you add more ideas to your Mind Map , it will naturally expand as your brain makes new connections between the various concepts . You must include a key idea when adding a branch to your Mind Map . Keep this idea as short as possible ; compared to longer , more complex phrases , this will allow you to make a greater number of associations . If you put ' Summer garden party in July ' on a branch , for example , you 're limited to the details of the party you 've just mentioned . Suppose you break this down into a few keywords ( for example , ' summer ' and ' garden party , . ' You can expand the possibilities for each branch by using a variety of keywords . Presents , cake , and pavilion are some examples . For chunking information into core topics and themes , limiting words to key phrases on each branch also works well . The use of keywords activates neural connections in your brain , allowing you to remember more information . Mind Mapping promotes whole - brain thinking by combining various cortical skills ranging from logical and numerical to creative and unique . The combination of these abilities makes your brain more synergetic and allows it to function at its best . Separating these cortical skills from one another does not aid brain development , which a Mind Map aims to achieve . Application You 'd only be scratching the surface of your Customer Mind Map by relying solely on your biases and perceptions . Actively gather data to test or expand your understanding of your target customer . There are a variety of places where you can get this information : Executives at the company The salesforce Customer Service Representatives Feedback from current customers on the company 's services Conduct customer surveys via email to learn how they feel about the brand , competitors , beliefs , and way of life . Inquire about which social media influencers customers follow , and use analytical tools to track customer behavior on the company 's website . After researching my client 's niche , B2B SaaS(Software as a Service ) I began mapping out my customer persona . I began by placing the company owner in the Map 's center and defining his pain points , which included " struggling to consistently find clients in a predictable manner . " From there , I began to branch out , and using the information I had gathered previously ; I was able to outline : His ambitions in terms of his business His geographical location , professional background , and educational background His social media platforms , as well as any social media influencers or pages he may follow , as well as his quirks and preferences . Business jargon and any visual preferences are examples of things to consider . They have different personality types . Are they leaders , are they logical or emotional , are they cautious or spontaneous , and so on ? Their working conditions . They have daily work routines , etc . What is the structure of their business ? Any industry trends in his field of work ? How do they usually deal with customers ? Insights After organizing all of this data , I created a Customer Persona for my client . Name Anthony Johnson . Title : Founder and CEO of the company Decision - maker : Yes Industry : Software and technology . Age : 30 years old Salary : $ 30 000 a year Employees : Over 20 Education : Bachelor 's degree in computer science Goals : Generate a consistent and predictable stream of clients for his Saas products on a monthly subscription basis . We assist in the following ways : Create a sales funnel and use Facebook Ads Marketing to drive traffic to Anthony 's products . Messaging Strategy : Reach out to Anthony via cold email and use email copy that directly addresses his lack of sales skills and how we can get him clients more consistently and predictably , allowing him to focus on creating solutions for his customers . Approach With these insights , my SMMA client created a successful cold email outreach strategy that addressed the pain points of their potential and current customers . They increased their open email rate from 11 percent to 32 percent in just two months , exceeding their sales targets by more than 50 percent . Overall , both my client and I were happy with their newfound success . Reflecting on the experience , I can confidently state that Mind Mapping is a powerful tool for brainstorming and processing information that can assist an entrepreneur in meeting any design challenges .