Products for Your Customers

Your product teams have worked around the clock to create the latest and greatest thing, and it’s ready to go to market. So how can you be certain customers will experience it in the way that you’d hoped?

Don’t find customers for your products. Find products for your customers. It’s all about understanding their needs, their pain points and what is it that they really desire. And those are the factors that we consider when it specifically comes to designing a new product, or even, for that matter, designing a new feature within an existing product.

Let’s take a look at the customer experience around a product launch on this episode of The CX Leader Podcast.

The CX Leader Podcast is produced by Walker, an experience management firm that helps our clients accelerate their XM success. You can find out more at walkerinfo.com.

Hey everyone! I’m Sara Walker, host of this episode of The CX Leader Podcast. Thank you for listening. It’s never been a better time to be a CX leader, and we explore topics and themes to help leaders like you develop great programs and deliver amazing experiences for your customers. I’m sure it goes without saying that designing any kind of product is no easy task, and in the case of software, balancing, the engineering needs versus customer expectations can be daunting. Simple things like moving a button from the place that has been for several versions can cause confusion and frustration, so it’s important to really understand a customer’s needs and communicate those needs to the product designers. And that’s exactly what this episode’s guest does. Naina Tahilramani is a senior customer experience manager at Intuit, the financial software company. Naina, thanks for coming on The CX Leader Podcast. Welcome.

Thank you so much, Sara. Thank you for having me on the podcast today. I am really looking forward to the conversation and excited as well.

Great. Likewise. So as we teed up with today’s episode, we’re talking about how to ensure that the customer is kept top of mind and the experience that they’re going to have around any sort of product launch. So maybe to get started, Naina, you could give us just a little bit of background as to how you became involved in customer experience and then specifically what that looks like for you, and maybe a typical day at Intuit. And we can go from there.

Sure. So, um, throughout my career, I have had privilege working in different roles. But one thing that has always remained constant is my connection with the customers. So I started my career in sales, where I quickly learned the importance of understanding customer needs and, you know, building strong relationships with the customers. And later on, I started my own business as a professional makeup artist, which was interesting and which gave me a first hand experience and understanding on how crucial it is, uh, you know, to generate or create exceptional experiences for our customers. And during this journey itself, I realized that a happy customer is the ultimate validation of the work that we do. And, you know, to your business’s success as well, because end of the day, if the experience that you’re delivering to the customer is poor, you would see it in the business growth, in the customer retention and so on. And there came a time where, you know, I migrated to Canada and, and post my move, I was exploring new avenues. Uh, and I was in the midst of, uh, exploring my career options. And, uh, while I was deep diving into my transferable skills, I realized that a consistent thread throughout my various career experiences was my passion for customer satisfaction, uh, as well as the insight that I gained from those.

So that led me to pursue my career in customer experience. And currently I’m working as a customer experience leader, uh, for Intuit, uh, where I am leading the mid-market segment in Canada. And when I first joined Intuit, uh, we were in the planning phase of launching a new product for this customer segment in North America. And, you know, I was really excited to be part of such an amazing team that was committed to creating amazing, uh, or truly exceptional experiences for their customer base. Um, and what my day looks like at Intuit. So, you know, I’m, I’m mainly focused on understanding our customer needs and preferences as a customer experience leader. And I, you know, day in, day out. Um, my focus is to identify the pain points in their end to end journey and working with cross-functional teams like product marketing, sales and many more. Uh, and being there as a customer advocate, raising the concerns and the current pain points and making the journey really seamless. So that’s what my current role is, uh, at Intuit.

Yeah. That’s fascinating. I think that that is one of the best connectors of anyone in our industry is just how we entered into this profession or got highly specialized in this profession. It always goes back to just recognizing the value. And I think in many ways, the joy that having a good customer experience, you know, just adds to your work life and your day overall. So you certainly have a unique perspective that you bring. But obviously it’s very ingrained now in what you’re doing day to day at Intuit. You know, I’m curious when you’re working through or your teams working through the, the launch of a new product, I would imagine that the the impetus or the need for that new product or that change in development isn’t always necessarily starting with the customer. But how do you keep the customer really top of mind from start to finish? Is that just so deeply ingrained in your company culture, or what’s the secret to making sure that, you know, they’re really thought about all along the way from inception of this new product to launch?

Yeah. So I would say that it definitely is ingrained into the customer, like into the company’s culture, because Intuit is really a customer obsessed company. Um, and, and it’s the team as well. Right? However, I would just start this by, uh, you know, by saying saying that don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers. So that’s what we do. We are not really working on designing a product that we want to sell our customers. Instead, we are designing something that the customer really wants, and it’s all about understanding their needs, their pain points and what is it that they really desire. And those are the factors that we consider when it specifically comes to designing a new product, or even, for that matter, designing a new feature within an existing product.

Yeah, no, I think that that’s so well said and so important for the day and age that we live in when new things can be designed every day, particularly as it relates to software. But keeping that focus and that use case really centered around the customer need is so, um, key to having a lasting success. So, you know, you mentioned that’s very much ingrained in how you approach any sort of new product or new feature design at Intuit. What, how are you gleaning those insights from customers? Is that through, um, survey feedback, through other means of data collection, maybe help us understand what’s getting you to that decision that we need to come out with an enhanced feature or perhaps a new product altogether.

Yeah. So so there is no set rule that there’s one way that we do it there are different, uh, you know, there are different routes that we take. So we, uh, dive deep into the world, uh, of customers by conducting extensive research, for sure. And, you know, we do this by by surveys, by holding interviews, organizing focus groups and or all other methods to get feedback directly from the customers. Um, so say, for instance, during our recent interviews, we came across that users were really looking for a way to track their financial progress of their business over time, but they were specifically looking for a visual representation rather than a data, uh, way or a written way, because they connected more with with graphs or charts versus having a very comprehensive table. So this really, this feedback really directly influenced us to explore and launch something that met those needs. Uh, but there are other avenues as well, like data analytics. So that help us understand what the customer behavior is and their preferences are. And this is where we uncover the patterns and trend that might not be immediately that obvious, but is proven by the data. Um, so, you know, just in another example, uh, we we were kind of looking at the data when we were, uh, you know, working on our recent launch, and we found that, um, customers valued ease of use above anything else, like when we compare it with price or with with any other, any other feature set, they, they really wanted the product to be really easy to use as compared to anything else.

So this really helped ensure us that the user interface of the product was pretty intuitive, and the product features were easy to use and understand for our customer base. So. So these are the two major factors, uh, you know, that we definitely stress on. But, uh, we also make sure that whenever we are designing the product, it’s not just we within Intuit or our company or our team who is involved in it, it’s the customers as well. So we make sure that we design with the customers rather than designing ourselves and then launching it to them. Um, and I can say the great way to do this is beta testing, you know, so we it allows us to gather real time feedback and make necessary adjustments to the product that we have designed, then launch it to the mass audiences based on the feedback that we have received from the closed groups. Uh, so that’s that’s definitely another way that we, we explore and we look at when it comes to the designing process.

Yeah, sure. That beta testing phase has to be really essential to um. Ensuring that you’re you’re hitting the mark in terms of what the customer is looking for, which has been, you know, as you’ve stated, the goal all along. But the best way to test that desired end state is to make sure that you’re getting that stamp of approval from that initial group before you’re rolling it out to the broader masses and the broader customer base. So that makes a lot of sense. How does the communication look throughout that design process? Maybe, you know, you referenced taking data points, focus group interviews with customers. How do you get those insights? Then back to the designers who are working through this, this product design and testing and launch phase throughout is that, you know, regular, ongoing communication that comes from you and your team or help us understand maybe how we make sure that that that customer lens, customer focus is getting through to those designers all throughout that process.

So, um, just to clarify, Sara, you’re asking specifically for the for the pre-launch process of communication or throughout the end to end journey?

Uh, I think I’d be curious in both, but open to where maybe you want to start as far as if there’s nuances between those approaches.

Mhm. Okay. So um, I would say that you know, it end of the day communication is the key during a product launch. And it, it involves more than just announcing the product as in you know, hey you know we are out there. Uh, it’s all about crafting a narrative that resonates well with the customers and making them feel like they are part of the entire journey. And to achieve this, there are several key aspects of communication that we can focus on, right? So firstly, when we communicate, uh, we need to make sure that we communicate the why behind our product to our customers, uh, to emphasize the purpose of the product and its benefits. Uh, so we want to make sure that the customers do understand how our product can help them solve their needs, rather than just selling them the product. Right? And, um, and then comes the phase where it is also the pre-launch, as in to your point where there are certain feedbacks that we are getting from the customers. And we want to make sure that we relate to the product teams. So to to that I would say there are speaks volumes and, and we have direct feedbacks from our customers.

We can directly go to our product teams and say, hey, this is what the customers is hearing. And this helped them understand their work on the life of our customers, uh, through feedbacks that we receive through different channels, whether it be social medias or surveys or emails or even for that matter, front facing or customer facing teams who then relay those, um, those feedbacks to, to us. Right? So those are certain ways where we, we tend to, uh, send those feedback to our internal teams. And in addition to that, I would say that focusing on the benefits and not just the feature sets is also crucial, because our customers value more the way that the product will make their life better or easier, rather than an exhaustive list of features. Because end of the day, if if you know, if I’m planning to buy a product and it has like 100 list of features, but it’s not calling out the value or the benefit it would bring into my life or my business, I wouldn’t understand how that product would do good for me. So. So it’s all about, uh, relaying the benefits well, to the customers and and the why behind it.

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So, Naina, you talked about how you you start the process by making sure the customers understand the benefits and the application to their needs for the the really the reason behind the the update that you’ve made to the technology or the new product that is being launched. So I’m curious if then in part of some of those initial customer feedback, um, phases of any launch, you receive inputs from the customer that says, hey, this doesn’t really meet the expectation that you that you set for me or the benefit that you told me that I would have. If that happens, does that then make for a more efficient or perhaps an easier kind of loop as far as how how do we correct and how do we get this to a place where, you know, we’re proving the benefit that we told customers they can expect? You know, it just the way you explained it makes it sound like it is a very end to end process as far as we want to share with the clients what they can expect. We’re going to make sure that this is what they’re expecting. And if it’s not, is that an easier than, you know, process to to walk engineers or designers or anyone in your maybe in your pricing team through.

Yeah. So I mean, it is definitely an interesting process, right? So when when we really are designing a product, we are designing it for the customers and when we are beta testing it, and that’s when we are receiving feedback from the customers to make some changes, we need to make sure that we adhere to those feedbacks, because end of the day, those are the super users who we are testing it with. Uh, you know, and and if they are providing those feedback, we need to make sure that those feedbacks are being acted upon on because, uh, if super users would have certain feedback, definitely rest of, uh, you know, the, the rest of the audiences or rest of the customers would also have similar feedback for it. And that’s the real reason why we, we go ahead and do beta testing at the first place. Uh, so in order to close the loop, we definitely go back. And specifically when there are certain, uh, bugs or issues or there are, you know, things that are not intended or planned are being called out. We make sure that we make take corrective actions and make those changes, uh, and, and act on it. But there are certain things that can be outside the scope for now. Uh, and, and, and in an ideal world, end of the day, we would like to deliver everything, um, to the customers. But it becomes really difficult, uh, to do it everything in a, in a short span of time, knowing there there are timelines. There are, there are, you know, certain things that are already planned out on the roadmap. So in that case, what we do is we obviously take it back and make sure that we put a timeline to those initiatives and it is added to the roadmap. And then we let the customers know that, yes, you your feedback has been heard and yes, we value that. And that’s this is what is on the roadmap. And you would be expecting or we are expecting it to be launched in the next few weeks or months. Uh, so it definitely gets acted upon. It’s just that how and when is is the question.

Yeah, I think that’s a great point that you make. It sounds like transparency is maybe a key value of that customer trust and making sure that you have that open line of communication as far as you know, we weren’t necessarily expecting that feedback, but we’re internalizing it. We’re working it into the roadmap. And, you know, we’ll be sure to keep you updated as it’s, um, as it progresses. You know, that’s just I think what any customer is looking for, maybe is, is ensuring that they feel heard, um, and that, you know, you value the input that they, they’re taking the time to, to give. So that’s a, I think a really, um, important assurance that you can deliver to your customers as part of this process. Right. And what you’re asking them to do, um, so that it ultimately benefits them.

Yep. I completely agree. And most of the times, all a customer or a user wants to do is being heard, right. They want to know they’re well, they want to feel valued. And and the only way you can do that is by acknowledging what they’re coming back to you with. So so you need to make sure that you’re hearing them. And it’s it’s all about acknowledging their feedback and making sure that you’re acting on it. And it’s it’s it’s all about making them feel valued all the time. Right. Because end of the day, your business is there only because of the customers, you know? So yeah.

Yeah. I want to go back to something you said a little earlier in our conversation around, you know, learning from your customers that that making it easy, making the software intuitive was really, um, you know, time and again, the, the key takeaway that you want to ensure is worked into any updates. To any new product launch. Would you say that’s a core tenet of the the organization, and how does that show up in terms of maybe making it easy for your customers to give you the feedback that you’re seeking? Be that related to the to the launch phase, and maybe that’s in the beta testing or perhaps post launch. And once the software is live and how you collect that feedback and then, you know, internalize it and put it on the roadmap for future updates.

Mhm. Yeah. I would say that, um, receiving feedback and the way customers can provide us feedback is definitely, uh, the key for any sort of product launch or even for that matter, any sort of enhancements or new releases that we do within an existing product. Uh, so anything, any changes that we tend to make within the product, it is it is based on the feedback that we receive. And, uh, because we value customer feedback a lot, and we need to make sure at the same time that it’s easier for the customer to send us feedback and it’s not a hard way for them to connect to us. So there are different channels that, uh, the customers leverage to provide us feedback. Uh, because, uh, you know, we, we, we have a product out there. It’s not merely the service that we provide. So we need to make sure that there are different channels within the product that the customers can leverage whenever it comes to providing feedback for the product, or even, for that matter, for anything else. Right? So, um, whenever they are, they are within a specific, uh, feature set. We have different feedback widgets that are installed within the product for to make it easier for the customer to just provide us a feedback with just one click of a button, rather than going on the internet and searching, how can they provide us and then call us and then say, hey, you know what? This is what is not happening or working for me? Um, so so those that’s that’s one way and then another, we obviously have different, uh, you know, online platforms that the customers can leverage or even they can reach out to our support teams, uh, and then let us know that this is what we are hearing.

And then there are different internal channels that are support teams can leverage to send those feedbacks to. Uh, so those are different channels that we, we leverage in order to make sure that it’s easier for the customers to provide us feedback. And, um, to your earlier point, uh, making the product intuitive is definitely our focus. And that’s where, you know, we we we also have the name Intuit, right? Because we, we want to make sure that the the product is easy to use. And, and it’s not something that the customers are putting hours and hours to learn. And, and that’s why we make sure that we provide every possible support to help customers understand and learn and navigate within the product, because we know it can be difficult for the customers to navigate something that is very basic for us. Uh, can be a very tricky for, for a customer. And we want to make sure that we are, uh, you know, putting ourselves into customer’s shoes and then taking that path and then knowing that what it would be like, uh, to be a customer and using that product. So, yes, ease of use is definitely a top, uh, top thing for us when it comes to, uh, to a product.

Yeah. I mean, it just it seems clear to me in our short conversation today that, you know, you’re designing your product for the ways in which your customers intend to use them so that they can get the maximum benefit. And then for those customers where you’re seeking that feedback from to ensure that that’s continuously happening, you know, you have that ease of ease of contact, ease of feeling heard, top of mind as well, which I think just speaks to, um, you know, the the amount of, um, care that Intuit has in ensuring that their customers are really ingrained in everything that they do. So that’s just a really neat thing to see. And I think an easy connection for, for anyone to draw just out of our short conversation. Well, Naina, I think we’re, you know, at the, the time where we ask every one of our guests to give us their take home value. So if there’s one tip or trick that you could offer a CX leader who’s listening to today’s podcast, um, that they could go and apply to their day to day, um, what would that be? And what, you know, advice do you have on making sure that that’s something that they can get moving on right away in terms of improving the customer experience at their organization?

Um, I would say. Uh, as a CX leader, my advice would be to prioritize active listening and being proactive. Uh, so those two, uh, you know, I, I, I feel would be my, my top two favorites because, uh, when so what I mean by active listening is to truly hear and understand your customer needs and address their concerns. To enhance the overall experience and encourage customers feedback. Help us gather invaluable insights to offer them those tailored solutions that we intend to give them, and also simultaneously being proactive by anticipating customer concerns that might arise out of changes that are being made by other departments. Um, so, you know, something that are not under our control, something like change of a price that no customer would be happy with or change in a user interface that we know would impact customers day to day use of the product. So how can we make sure that we are proactive in making those communications out to the customers to let them know that, hey, this is what is coming up? Uh, and, you know, this is how it would impact and also the why behind it, as in, why have we made those changes or why are we planning to make those changes is very important. So yes, uh, being proactive and also making sure that you actively listen to your customer are the two, um, two big tips that I can give here.

A great skill to ensure we’re always keeping top of mind in our industry, absolutely, is having those ears open and making sure that you’re you’re actively keeping your customers updated on changes, um, and things that are going to affect them. A great tip.

Um hum. Thank you.

Naina Tahilramani is a senior customer experience manager at Intuit. Naina, thank you so much for being on The CX Leader Podcast today. If anyone who’s listening wanted to potentially reach out to connect, follow up on anything that they heard from you today, is there a way in which they could contact you?

Um, sure. So, uh, you can reach out to me, reach out to me via LinkedIn, and, um, I’m pretty active there. You can just search out my name, and then you should be able to find me there.

Excellent. Thank you so much. If you want to talk about anything you heard on this podcast, or about how Walker can help your business’s customer experience, feel free to email us at podcast@walkerinfo.com. Remember to give The CX Leader Podcast a rating through your podcast service and leave us a review. Your feedback will help us improve the show and deliver the best possible value to you, our listener. Check out our website cxleaderpodcast.com to follow the show and find all our previous 300 plus episodes. We keep our podcast organized by series and even link to a blog that we’re updating regularly. The CX Leader Podcast is a production of Walker. We’re an experience management firm that helps companies accelerate their XM success. You can read more about us at walkerinfo.com. Thank you for listening and remember, it’s a great time to be a CX leader. We’ll see you next time.