Project Name

State of Scaled Customers

My Role

Product Designer / Reseacher

Project Type

Research / Strategy

Project Year

2021

CONTEXT

New focus

Following comprehensive market research, Thinkific determined that, from a Plus perspective, the focus should be solely on the Revenue Generation use case, catering to customers who prioritize monetizing their courses as a primary or secondary source of income.

With this decision in mind, it became evident that, from a product perspective, there was a need to gain a deeper understanding of the Revenue Generation use case for large-scale customers, including the challenges faced by these customers during the setup process on Thinkific and in the management of their business.

FIRST STEP

Alignment

Prior to engaging with customers, I proactively sought alignment among the stakeholders of the project by presenting a research plan that included:

• The purpose of the study (Why is this important)
• Research Objective (What and how the research study is being conducted)
• Key Research questions (What we are trying to learn from this customer)
• Assumptions (What we think we know)
• Logistics (Methodology, Recruitment, Timeline)

DEFINE CUSTOMER SAMPLE

Type & Distribution

8 customers

Primary Revenue

Companies whose primary business is online education. Goal is to continue to scale by providing a seamless and custom learning experience to their students.

7 customers

Additional Revenue

Companies with a goal to drive additional revenue through online education in their area of expertise. The goal is drive new MRR by extending their services to either B2C or B2B.

6 customers

High GMV

Customers in the knowledge commerce space that scaled their business and have found success in Thinkific. They all have had a high GMV in the last 6 months.

CONDUCT

Research by Numbers

As a key player in this process, my responsibilities involved taking the lead in scheduling calls with customers, ensuring the presence of notetakers and customer success managers, leading the interviews following a pre-determined script, and conducting a thorough analysis of the interviews to uncover key themes and categorize insights.

21

Customers interviewed

1050

Min of interview footage

600+

Notes

30

Product aspects discussed

INSIGHTS

Learnings

After completing all the interviews, it became evident that we had gleaned valuable insights from speaking with customers. We conducted regular debriefing sessions and meticulously documented the most significant findings. The following are some of the key takeaways identified during the study:

Key Takeaways

Customers want efficient ways to manage their growing business

Customers want to achieve big things and are looking to us for guidance

Customers want to do what they want, when they want.

Customers want to be equipped with the data they need for business decisions

FINDINGS

4 Customer Segments

We initially divided our sample into Primary, Secondary Revenue Generation and High GMV. Still, once we started to talk to customers, we identified new segments that helped bring a vision/example of how those customers behave, use and feel the product.

DATA

Affinity Synthesis

After diligent effort and collaboration, we were able to categorize and cluster over 600 notes based on their similarities. This exercise proved to be a game-changer in understanding the vast amount of qualitative data and uncovering significant patterns and trends. The affinity map sample below serves as a testament to the impact of this organizational process:

ORGANIZING

Navigate Research Findings

Notes - Customers qualitative data from the interviews (issue, quotes, background information...)
I statements - Pattern identification, where 3 or more customers have reported this issue.
Categories - A group of I statements that has the same high-level topic.
Team Indication - If the finding is related to a team working in that area, we add an avatar to facilitate team consumption.

Full Miroboard with the research synthesis

THE START

Much
More To Do

The results of the research were game-changing for the company as they provided a deeper insight into the needs and challenges faced by scaled customers. These findings played a crucial role in shaping the strategy and initiatives of multiple product teams across the company, giving them the confidence they needed to tackle complex challenges and drive growth.

THE IMPACT

Key results

A better understanding of our customers

Inform roadmap and product initiatives

Helped define the strategy and vision for scaled customers 

Insights for marketing and customers success managers

Ray Santos

For any further info or if you would just like to
reach out to me and say hi.

Vancouver, BC - Canada
Contact: renanfscanada@gmail.com
Instagram: @renanfsdesign
Linkedin: @renanfsdesign

Design and content  ©Ray Santos 2023