Terri Ramsey Beavers You might think you know what your customers want, but do you? Have you put yourself in their shoes and environment to understand what they love, hate, need, and don’t need?
When you create an app, software, or website with a target market in mind, human-centered design needs to be at the forefront. Otherwise, you’re creating something you think people want without knowing with any certainty.
So, before going full steam ahead with your product or business idea, consider the points below to ensure you’re creating a human-centered design.
It’s Okay to Ask for Help
If you’ve come up with a winning idea but don’t know how to develop it into something consumers want, don’t stress. This is where a human-centered creative design agency can help.
When you hire creative design professionals to assist with product packaging, website creation, and general design, you benefit from their expertise and learn how to produce something that speaks to the people you’re trying to target.
Immerse Yourself in Your Target Market’s Lives
To sell a product to a specific person, you have to be that person. You need to know their problems, what their everyday life looks like, and what you can do to offer the solution they need.
Sometimes, this can be as easy as spending time with your target market. Other times, it can require survey research, emails, and interviews.
However you decide to do it, it’s important to understand how crucial this step can be. Otherwise, you might end up with an underdeveloped or redundant product that fails to take off.
Encourage User Feedback
Not everyone likes receiving feedback. In fact, some people fear it. However, without it, you risk creating a product that doesn’t meet the mark for those who might have purchased it if they were given a chance to provide input.
When a new product is in the developmental stages, hold feedback sessions with your target market. Encourage people to use your product, and ask for ways to improve it. When you receive honest opinions, you can fine-tune your goods and services even more.
Don’t Let Your Knowledge Restrict You
When you came up with an idea for a product, you likely had a single person and scenario in mind. For example, let’s assume you created an acrylic mouthguard to protect people’s teeth while they played sports.
Your product is undoubtedly helpful, but by requesting feedback and talking to people, you may learn that your mouthguards are particularly promising for people who grind their teeth in their sleep. Suddenly, an entirely new market has opened up to you.
Think of the Impact Beyond the User
It’s only natural to create a product while thinking about the user, but part of the human-centered design process involves thinking about others who the product might impact. An example might be a noisy child’s toy that you know a baby will love but an adult might not. The creation of an ‘off’ switch might solve this problem.
The same goes for the development of anything potentially harmful to the environment. You might know you need something to hold your six-pack of beers together, but plastic rings can have catastrophic consequences for marine life. Developing beer holders from renewable, compostable, and recyclable materials like sugar cane pulp might be worth considering.
Designing something for your target market can involve more than thinking about what you like. It takes research and plenty of feedback to learn exactly how your future customers tick. Prioritize human-centered design, and you might be pleasantly surprised at your level of success.