July 13, 2018

What to do when your real-world users don’t match the ‘ideal’ in your head

47 minutes

Today we’re talking with Laura Klein, the author of Build Better Products and UX for Lean Startups, as well as the founder of UsersKnow.com. She also hosts her own podcast, What is Wrong With UX, where she shares insights from her 20+ years in improving experiences for users.

In this episode, Laura shares a story of what happened when a company she worked for chose to ignore the needs and challenges of their main users, just because those weren’t the users the product team wanted to have.

It sounds crazy, but in Laura’s experience as a UX consultant, this actually happens more often than you might think.

It’s a fascinating conversation about how to really listen to your users, so that they can help take your company in directions you might never have expected. We also talk about the importance of creating a culture of respect for your users, as well as how to find the critical overlap between what users want and what’s best for your business.

Laura was a pleasure to speak with, and I hope you find her as insightful as I did.

Topics discussed in this episode:

[00:02:18] A time that Laura was working with a company that wasn’t paying enough attention to their fanbase

[00:07:12] Why the startup that Laura worked for appealed to a particular niche user base

[00:09:22] What happened when the users who were attracted to the product didn’t match the expectations of the product people who were making the decisions

[00:14:10] The best way to adjust when the reality of a product and the users who are attracted to it don’t match up to the original vision of that product

[00:17:43] Why the people in charge of the product weren’t hearing positive feedback

[00:21:35] How going out of your way for users can inspire more positive responses

[00:23:53] Examples of companies that do listen closely to their users

[00:25:29] How to find the overlap between what users want and what’s best for the business

[00:32:15] How to create a culture of respect for the user and put the user first when it comes to design

[00:36:58] The importance of open, honest, and vulnerable communication with users who are leaving

[00:38:37] Why it’s necessary to create a culture where people are being exposed to the customers and care about putting processes in place that help the customers.

[00:42:59] A resource that helped Laura develop a user-first mindset

[00:45:33] Where listeners can find out more about Laura and her work

...more

View all episodes

By Hotjar

4.9

3737 ratings