What is the best way to identify the root cause of a customer problem?

The ‘art of asking the right questions’ is a hidden super power in research. The right flow of questions reveals a lot of information. But how do you ask the right questions? Somewhere I read about TEDI. -Tell me about… -Explain… -Describe for me… -If you were x, then what would be your thoughts on y? I like to expand it to TEDI+, as it’s even more powerful when you dare to ask the ‘Why…? Why …? Why …?’ question frequently to dig deeper.

Know that customers don't buy your products or service. They infact hire for getting the job or task done. Examples: I want the bank to get these tasks done. Save money (Savings account), Transfer my money (debit), lend me money (credit), grow my money (Deposits) Asking the open-ended questions that address the jobs to be done with 4 aspects. 1. Process paint points - Delay or Complexity 2. Financial pain points - Hidden fees, Expensive 3. Support pain points - Slow response, Insufficient knowledge of customer care 4. Product points - Slow App, Features not working Open-ended questions often lead to complex and extended answers. Ask more probing open-ended questions post those answers to identify the root cause of the customer problem

The quickest and most effective way to identify the root cause is seeing the given problem statement as a target user of the application and giving 360degree view to it given set of features within the application. Taking next step ahead in this perspective is to develop scalability in the application to ensure that it matches with client's line of business future purview down the line next 3-5years (ideal life span for a software application). The above statement may be added with architectural concerns in case of open source applications that too often requires code updating and code scaling.

In addition to the mentioned strategies, consider involving cross-functional teams in the analysis process to gain diverse perspectives and expertise. Furthermore, prioritize continuous improvement by regularly reviewing and updating your problem-solving approach based on feedback and evolving customer needs. Additionally, ensure clear communication and collaboration between departments to facilitate seamless problem resolution and prevent recurrence of issues. Finally, leverage customer feedback and insights to proactively identify potential problems before they escalate, fostering a proactive and customer-centric approach to problem-solving.

In my experience even asking ‘3 WHY’s’ in a row is an excellent way to dig deeper in the needs and motives of a client to discover the jobs-to-be-done and the customer frictions he or she is experiencing.

Once you have gathered answers of all the open-ended questions, mapping and narrowing it. The root cause of the problem will always lies with either product, process, people or place. People: The workforce that is representing your brand. Delivering your product/services or answering the questions of the customer over the calls, Process: The time taken to deliver the product/services, complexity of ordering the product or service Product: The actual product that is slow or cumbersome. Doesn't represent the same as promised Place: The physical location. How easy it is to find. Does it have proper waiting or seating arrangement etc. Once you have narrow-down. You can do Fish-bone analysis to identify the root cause of the problem

Once you have identified the root cause of the problem. You need to start looking at on how you can address or find solution to the customer problem. You start looking at how can I fix the people, process, product or place problem. Find a focused group that can compliment each other and would use the 'brain to storm a problem' 1. Look at bringing quantity. Being divergent about the solutions that would be discussed without being judgemental. 2. Narrow-down the idea or solutions 3. Validate the idea on feasibility, effectiveness and cost and customer satisfaction. 4. Prototype and test the solution and gather feedback. 5. Implement the solution at scale.

I like to inspire you with 5 FOCUS GROUP METHODS to discover and analyse customer’s needs and preferences 1. Job-to-be-Done Framework: Ask participants about the problems they are trying to solve and the goals they aim to achieve. 2. Pain Points and Frustrations: Prompt participants to discuss their pain points and frustrations. 3. Gains and Desired Outcomes: Inquire about participants' desired outcomes and what they hope to achieve from a product. 4. Ideation and Co-creation: Encourage participants to generate ideas and solutions collectively. This method helps uncover latent needs. 5. Interactive Stimuli: Use visual aids, prototypes, or concept sketches as stimuli to gather participants' impressions, reactions, and feedback.

You also need to consider based on the customer problem. 1. Is the problem urgent? Will the customers really care if we solve this in scale? Or they can solve on their own? 2. Identify if problem is persistent across various customer segment through data collection of surveys etc 3. Check if this problem is solved. Can I charge extra to my existing or new customer.