Focus on the Customer's Problem Not Their Suggested Solution

When conducting customer research and evaluating feature requests, it is crucial to distinguish between the problem the customer is facing and the solution they are suggesting.

Customers are experts in their own problems, but they are not experts in software design or product development. Their suggested solutions (e.g., "add this button," "I need this specific feature") are often just one narrow, and potentially suboptimal, way to address their underlying need.

The "Faster Horse" Problem:

The famous (though likely apocryphal) Henry Ford quote, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses," perfectly illustrates this principle. The customers' problem was the need for faster transportation, not a literal desire for a faster horse.

A Better Approach to Customer Conversations:

Instead of asking leading questions about your product or proposed features, focus on understanding the customer's world. Ask open-ended questions like:

• "Can you walk me through your current workflow?"
• "What is the hardest part of that process?"
• "What are you trying to accomplish?"
• "What have you tried in the past to solve this?"

By taking your own product out of the equation and focusing entirely on the customer's "Job to be Done," you can uncover deeper insights and identify innovative opportunities that you (and your customers) would otherwise miss. Your job as a founder is to be the expert on the solution, which requires you to first become an expert on their problem.

Tags: #SaaS #product-management #customer-discovery #jobs-to-be-done #product-market-fit #feature-requests