61 / Simple Steps for High-Touch User Engagement

Maybe more than anything else, product people want good, honest, relevant feedback about their products. And their go-to source for the straight-up truth? Moms and best friends. They’re the ones who’ll give you the sort of “big-picture feedback you’re desperate for.” And the best part is they know enough not to give advice you didn’t ask for. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, author-entrepreneur Rob Fitzpatrick joins Sean and ITX product strategist Matt Bush to discuss how best to do product discovery and get answers to these questions: “How do I get people to talk to me? How do I know if I have enough feedback? How do I figure out if I’m building the right thing?” In his book, The Mom Test, Rob writes, “It’s not everyone else’s responsibility to tell you the truth; it’s your responsibility to go out and find it.” Coupled with his personal rule – i.e., to build products only for customers I actually want to be friends with – and you’ve got a recipe for product success. Even more than that, though, you’ve got a blueprint for research, discovery, and engagement that leads to better products and more interesting stuff to work on. Listen in to catch more of Rob’s “how to’s” on user engagement and workshopping: * How (and where) to initiate the perfect learning conversation* How keen focus on your MVA will help you build your MVP* How to recognize compliments as the red flags that you’ve started asking bad questions* How to match the 5 teaching formats with the type of content you’re teaching Rob’s Recommended Reading The E-Myth Revisited: Why Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber. Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters, by Richard Rumelt. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depends On It, by Chris Voss. The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you, by Rob Fitzpatrick. The Workshop Survival Guide: How to design and teach educational workshops that work every time, by Rob Fitzpatrick.