My career kicked off in an unlikely place — reviewing, rating, and analyzing TV station websites as a broadcasting graduate student. Naive? Probably. Ambitious? Absolutely.

A few classmates and I had a theory: TV stations were perfectly positioned to become the digital epicenter of their communities. In the late ’90s, the push to go local, personalized, and niche via digital channels just wasn’t a thing yet. It was wide open. The first one there wins. Remember Citysearch?

Like most big changes, though, there was no shortage of reluctance and denial. Stations had been doing the same thing for decades and saw no reason to stop. “We are a TV station. Our focus is on the 5, 6, and 10 o’clock newscasts. We don’t have time for a Website. This trend will pass. No one will go there,” crowed more than one grey-haired news director or general manager.

As inexperienced but proactive twenty-somethings, we saw it differently. Web video — remember RealVideo? — was coming, and the opportunity was there for whoever was bold enough to grab it. We showed up to every pitch with a TV station armed with data, case studies, and the kind of unearned confidence that only your twenties can provide. The tide was shifting, and we were trying to convince these stations that the chance to plant their flag — to be the market’s pre-eminent online destination — was right now.

But even when a station saw the value? They wanted the bare minimum. A domain, a few anchor headshots, some promos for the upcoming sweeps piece. It was the equivalent of a billboard. Check the box, send these pesky kids on their way. We were that mosquito at the picnic that just won’t quit.

We kept buzzing anyway because we saw what was coming – and it would be transformational for those willing to be trailblazers.

We pointed to the early success of Yahoo, and Altavista. We highlighted newspapers — yes, newspapers — that were already leaning into frequent updates and community interactivity. (Newspapers were ahead of TV stations on this. Let that sink in.) Our pitch was simple: your website should be a living, breathing community destination, not something to be thought of as a one and done project. Your community is always changing and your online presence should mimic the pulse of the people you serve.

Over time, my colleagues and I built tools and frameworks (and a company!) to help stations move online with a forward-thinking mindset. If done well, the website became the nexus — a companion to the local newscasts, not an afterthought. We found allies inside these organizations, too. Sales directors were usually the big win. They saw the website as a differentiator, especially in growing markets like Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Kansas City, where many stations didn’t even have an online presence yet. Watching sales leaders get creative about contests, promotions, and digital packages was genuinely thrilling and they became important advocates to get the entire station thinking about the Web.

Fast forward to today: TV stations face enormous pressure to stay relevant. Younger generations can’t imagine sitting down at 6pm to watch a newscast, let alone seeking out a local TV station’s clip on their phone. News breaks online in minutes — not from a station or a “trusted authority,” but from your neighbor, your friend, or anyone with a phone and something to say.

Those early conversations — the skepticism, the slow wins, the doors slammed in our faces — shaped how I think about technology, change management, and the art of selling a vision that was far ahead of its time.  And starting a business from scratch was something I’ll never forget.

More to come. Stay tuned.

Until next time, 

Dan Naden

The post Before the Algorithm: Why TV Stations Were Sitting on a Digital Gold Mine appeared first on Dan Naden.

One ‘connection’ I’ve recently discovered is my career as a product manager is a microcosm of my many unique experiences. Ten, twenty, thirty years ago – long before the product manager role was a thing – I was planning, thinking and acting like a product manager. 

In my college years, one of my highlights was serving as one of the ‘play by play’ voices on WVUR-FM (90.5) for the Valparaiso Crusaders Division 1 Men’s Basketball team. Yes, for you sports nuts, that’s the ‘Valpo’ team that would make a deep March Madness run in the late 90s. In fact, the little Lutheran school from small-town Indiana was just a few bounces away from advancing to the Elite Eight – a level normally reserved for basketball’s blue bloods (Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, and Kentucky). 

WVUR-FM was an incredible learning ground for communication students like me. Students wrote and read news reports, debated topics on-air, and played edgy music on weekly shifts. Additionally, we learned the challenges of managing a staff and a budget. Being a college athlete (futbol/soccer) and a sports junkie, I was drawn to the sports department. Culling through wire stories and newspapers, I gathered and synthesized the sports news of the day (NFL trades, ground-breaking baseball signings, college football coaching hires) for the Valpo student body.

Our product was information and we were packaging it for a customer who was busy, overworked and hungry to learn about the world. And think about it – personal computers and mobile phones weren’t even a thing. The sources for information for college students of that era were: TV (a couple of channels if you were lucky), newspapers (local and national), and radio. 

The highlight of the sports department was undoubtedly the opportunity to broadcast sporting events: Basketball (Men and Women), Football and Baseball. A spirited crew of communication students, including myself, reported on all the action live for the Valparaiso area listening audience. It wasn’t a powerful radio signal. If you ventured one mile off campus in any direction, you’d get static. We were, however, determined to paint the picture for anyone who tuned in. 

I didn’t know it at the time, but being a sports broadcaster does have some stark similarities to the world of product management. 

1. Know your audience: Valparaiso was a small town and WVUR-FM had a small, but important voice to play. Our audience numbered in the ‘thousands’. My fraternity brothers would give me feedback on my announcing prowess as they listened on their Walkmans during study time or campus walks. The feedback wasn’t very deep, but it was insightful: “Too much talking, Naden.” “You need to tell us the score.” “Can you interview the coaches at halftime?” 
   
   Local men and women (longtime season ticket holders for the Brown and Gold of Valpo) would sit courtside with headphones on and tuned into the broadcast. After the game, they’d visit our broadcast table and give us pointers on how to better communicate the game action. News Alert: The people of the state of Indiana really know the sport of basketball. While broadcasting the games was a blast – probably one of the highlights of my college years – it was imperative I thought and acted like a PM, listening to my customers to deliver the best product. 

2. Dive into the data: Product managers and sports broadcasters must rely on and master the ‘right data’ to help best deliver and quality product for their audiences. 
   
   Oftentimes, basketball games are won because of who ruled the rebounding battle or who had the better shooting percentage. The listening audience would love to know which stat or stats is going to affect the outcome. Which player’s performance is critical to seeing their team become the victor? 
   
   The parallels to product management are evident. Today, PMs are awash in data and it’s most critical to know which data points signal an upturn or downturn in your product space. Which data changes should point to a product pivot or doubling down on your current approach? Relying on hunch or intuition isn’t a consistent strategy. This approach won’t put you, your team or your company in a position of competitive advantage or differentiation. Lean into the data and it will be an important ally to help guide the direction. 

3. Teamwork: The best product managers work well with many functions across the organization (engineering, design, legal, marketing). They are able to influence and motivate without the authority even when deadlines are tight and the pressures are evident. 
   
   The best ‘play by play’ voices (broadcasters) are also team-first. The teamwork starts with the person next to you – the color commentator. This person is your complement – the expert who fills in the blanks. He or she goes deep into the game to highlight trends, hot (or cold) players, and shares the keys to getting a team stuck or unstuck. 
   
   The more you work with your ‘co-pilot’, the closer you will become. The best color commentators know when to fill the empty spaces with insight versus letting the crowd noise. ‘Play by play’ success isn’t just tied to the person alongside you. There are additional teammates who help ‘make’ the broadcast: the producer in the studio pays the bills (commercials) and keeps the sound pristine. The sports information (SID) can’t be forgotten. The SID provided the broadcast team with halftime stat rundowns or plugged us in with players or coaches for interviews.
   
   Similarly, the best product managers need a community to succeed. The engineering team builds the product. The ‘testers’ ensure the product is free from bugs and can scale to meet demand. The sales team provides vital feedback on new features or roadmap considerations from customers. If stuck in isolation, a product manager will make rash, short-sighted and irrational decisions. Even worse, he or she will get burnt out. 

4. Tell a story: Listeners and customers alike love to hear stories about people and the challenges they face. It’s true we don’t remember facts, figures, specifications. We remember people and their unique path. 
   
   Product managers know that an promotion campaign starts by qualifying and qualifying the customer pain – and then – showing how you uniquely qualified to solve it. This is true if you are a PM for testing software or Gillette razors. What job does your customer need done and how and why are you the only and best option to consider? 
   
   If you’ve watched any sporting event, you’ve heard stories of athletes or coaches who withstood struggle to reach their sport’s pinnacle. It could be the young athlete who lost a brother at a young age or a coach who battled through a crippling period of abuse or depression. Like today’s Joe Buck or Mike Tirico, the Valpo announcing team used the power of story to draw in an audience. We told stories of a young freshman who shot 200 free throws every day for one year. Or the undersized forward who punished his body over the summer to add 25 pounds of muscle. Now, no one outmuscles him in the paint for a rebound. 

It’s surprising to see the commonalities between effective product management and sports broadcasting. 1. Know your audience 2. Dive into the data 3. Teamwork and 4. Tell a story. I wasn’t thinking ‘product management’ when I put on the headphones to broadcast my first Valparaiso Crusaders game on WVUR-FM. Now, over the passing of time, it’s amazing how the two disciplines are connected. They won’t teach you broadcasting techniques in product management training and vice versa, yet it’s amazing to draw the parallels between two divergent roles. Product management can be an extremely rewarding career drive and own four common themes. 

Until next time, 

Dan Naden

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Despite a shortage of workers and the digitization of ‘everything’, the experts opine that the masses are craving to get back together for in-person events and classroom sessions. Admittedly, the pandemic has made in-person gatherings and meetups very challenging – and in person teaching does have its advantages (peer collaboration, hands-on assistance with complex topics, team building and instructor Q&A). When ‘normal’ returns however, do we really expect the digital acceleration and modernization of our world to slow? I doubt it. Digital experiences will still continue to be a vital and burgeoning modality for learning. It’s best we raise the bar on what we are producing for a digital world instead of waiting for the ‘old ways’ to return. 

In 2022, let’s step up the quality of what we produce for digital experiences. Instead of bemoaning about digital fatigue, it’s time we get cracking at building the best experience possible for our customers. 

So what can you, the digital maven, marketer, creator, trainer, leader, do to design better digital experiences in 2022? Let’s start with a few questions to consider. 

1. How about we double down on listening to our customer’s feedback (and truly mastering the world in which they live) instead of copying our competition? Just because our competition is introducing the same ‘old stuff’, it doesn’t mean we should follow. Someone has to be the trailblazer. Why not you? 

2. How about we stop building cookie-cutter experiences and experiment with something drastically different? If what you are doing isn’t giving you the results you desire, why are you still doing it? Customers want their problems solved and they are putting their trust in you to do it. Get ‘out of the box’ and think boldly about the best way to bring them the information they need. And it may not be the way ‘you’ve always done it’. 

3. How about we talk to our customers about what they liked about our webinar or digital learning? Was it too short? Too long? Did the ‘presenter/instructor’ go too deep or not deep enough on the topic? It could be as simple as attracting the right people to your event instead of bringing in every job title and then bringing value to no one. Identify your audience and build a can’t miss experience which leaves them wanting more. 

It’s easy to assume we are tired of digital experiences. The pandemic has pushed us to stare at screens more than ever before. The reality is that this is the new normal. As companies, brands, and products, we can’t blame low-performing webinars and digital training on tired, distracted, overwhelmed customers. This is our new world and we must produce a product that’s purpose-built for the needs of our customers. 

Until next time, 

Dan Naden

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The last number of years we had chosen to vacation at the beach. Something stirred in our family this year though to try something different. Heading west the perfect medicine; it was just what we needed after a crazy, stressful year of stay-at-home school and mask-wearing. Vail was a place I had visited many years ago as a collegian. The details have faded from memory, yet I recall a stunning week of skiing and socializing during Spring Break in the early 90s. A trip to Vail this time of year would have us switching out our skis and winter gear for hiking boots, swimsuits and sunscreen. 

The entertainment options surrounding the Grand Hyatt are plentiful. There really is something for everyone.  One night, at the recommendation of our saxophone-playing son, we attended a jazz concert in Lionshead Village. Ann Hampton Gallaway wasn’t a household name, although I can’t say I know many ‘names’ in jazz besides the legends Miles Davis or Ella Fitzgerald. Ann was backed by a bass player, piano player and drummer — all of them amazingly talented at providing a backdrop for Anne to do her thing. With little in the way of expectations, we were stunned at this lady’s stage presence, sense of humor, and artistry. Over the course of two hours, she dazzled the crowd with many of her own songs spanning a multi-decade career. Who knew that this remarkable talent performed a song for a movie starring Robert DeNiro and also wrote a song specifically for Barbara Streisand’s wedding? 

A welcomed theme for this vacation was ‘stepping out of the comfort zone’ and mission accomplished. We took a rafting trip down the Shoshone Rapids through Glenwood Canyon on the Colorado River. The entire family was a bit apprehensive of this adventure, yet now, they can’t stop talking about it. The first part of the trip was a roller coaster ride of dips, drops and twists along the river. Thankfully, I had the prime slot at the front of the tube, which gave me numerous opportunities to get soaked by the tumbling waves. The second half of the trip was calm, although it gave us remarkable views of the soaring mountains which surrounded us. The next float down the river has the family already asking for a step up in rapid class from Class 3 to Class 4 rapids. Bring it on!!

Another day had us hiking up the face of Vail Mountain. Being novices at hiking, we selected a challenging route – the Berry Picker Trail, a 3.3 mile hike which rose nearly 2,300 feet  in elevation. On the surface, what could be challenging about a trail named Berry Picker? If we grew hungry during our journey, we could stop and grab a few berries along the way for sustenance. Within the first few minutes, Berry Picker showed its teeth, sending up spiraling up the face of the mountain; we were gasping for breath as the trail seemed to take us continually skyward. At times, the trail went flat, but much of the journey had us carefully selecting our footing to avoid a tumble. While at times each step seemed like torture, the breathtaking views of the town below zapped away any sense of fatigue. The higher we climbed, the more desolate it became and the more beautiful the scenery. More than two hours later, huffing and puffing, with burning, aching legs, we reached the summit and fell listlessly into a park bench. The ride down the gondola was amazing as we reflected on how we actually climbed this mountain without suffering cardiac arrest. When we visit Vail next time, we will acclimate to the altitude and terrain with some ‘starter’ trails before considering the herculean Berry Picker. 

One day, we took a short taxi ride to hop on horses at nearby Vail Stables. No one in our family were experienced riders, yet we jumped at the chance to try something new. Jumping aboard horses named Bart, Pumpkin, Hocus Pocus and Tonto (I love horse names!!), we navigated an extremely narrow path to see the beauty of Vail from some unreal vistas. On numerous occasions, all of us wondered how our horses would traverse roots, rocks and muddy soil to keep us upright. By the end of the ride we had achy backs and tingly legs, yet we were all hoping we could take another loop around the trail. 

When we weren’t ‘out and about’ in Vail, we criss-crossed the paths just outside the Grand Hyatt’s back patio, even traversing the shallower-than-normal Gore Creek. When it was time to chill, we lounged by the pool. The view from the outdoor pool was stunning. Looking up Vail Mountain at the canopy of green trees is something that could never grow old. And the big plus – no bugs!! I love it that mosquitoes can’t pester and bother at higher elevations. 

The only area for improvement: the TV reception in our room was a bit sketchy, even after a visit from the engineering department. This shortcoming, however, was a blessing because who wants to spend their time at such a gorgeous resort in their room watching television? 

Thank you to the Grand Hyatt Vail for a memorable vacation. We hope to be back soon. 

Who knows? Maybe our return visit will occur during the winter months. The skiing scene surely is exceptional. 

Until next time, 

Dan Naden

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Like most endeavors, there’s a wealth of book writing how-to information on the Internet. It’s hard to discern the validity and accuracy of the information shared.

Is it legit?
Is it credible?
Should I trust what is being shared? 

Learning from other professional pursuits, I aimed to ‘get out of the building’ to truly make meaningful progress on starting and finishing a book. I reached out to my network. 

Who else had written a book?
What was their process?
How did they find the time to write?
How did they know when they were done? 

Over the course of countless conversations with friends and acquaintances who had written a book, I collected valuable insight into how the writing process should proceed. Because I was writing a fictional story, I focused my conversation to those authors who published that type of book. It comforted me to hear that the writing process — and the task chore of staying resolute — wasn’t easy for anyone. Writing is hard work. Editing is hard work. Publishing something is the hardest work. 

After zeroing in on my story topic (youth soccer) and my target market for the book (elementary and middle schoolers and their parents), I realized I needed pictures to keep the story alive and captivating for the audience. I wasn’t skilled in drawing the illustrations. I needed a professional. But how? Where would I find such a person? The answer, once again, had me pushing to get out of the building and leaning into my network. Researching and eventually finding an affordable (illustration was much more expensive than I imagined) and talented illustrator led to an amazing collaboration that took my book up a notch. 

There are many processes and best practices to follow as you attempt to write a published story. In my book, one of the most helpful suggestions is to not edit as you write. Write (or type) your story. Focus on the editing after the story is down, even if it is rough and sloppy. As I began to scratch out my story (chapter after chapter), I wrestled with doubt and frustration, yet I pressed forward to reaching a lifetime goal. I resisted the temptation to have a close friend or family member do the editing duties. The work may have been cheaper, yet I wanted to invest in a professional, unbiased, and experienced editing eye – someone who has seen and edited numerous books. 

The editor I selected only happened because I stepped out of my comfort zone (aka the building) and tapped into my network. My editor not only helped me clean up some grammatical hiccups; she also helped me dramatically improve story flow and character development — two areas that plague most fiction tales. Another area where my editor provided sage advice was knowing when ‘done’ is ‘done’. She helped me craft and build a story arc, bringing the story to a dramatic conclusion which (I hope) kept readers on edge until the final few pages. 

The Book is Done. Now What? 

Hundreds of books are written and published daily. But how can an author ensure that his book is reaching his target market? Being a product marketer and manager by trade, I started the launch process by building a ‘buyer persona’ for the book. What type of person would be interested in reading a story about the ups and downs of a youth soccer season? 

After clearly defining the target: middle-aged soccer parents and their elementary to middle-school aged children, I researched where these ‘personas’ go online to look for books to read. Besides messaging on the usual social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, etc.), I leaned into library systems and school districts to make connections which proved fruitful for book sales. Writers sometimes hate the ‘selling’ side of the business, yet if you have a story to tell, you must be vigilant about getting that story into the hands of your market. 

Find a Community to Sharpen your Grit

Writing is a solo endeavor. If you write for any period of time, you’ll realize the inordinate amount of time with just you, your thoughts, and a keyboard or notebook. Despite writing’s solitary tendencies, there is an active and thriving writing community out there if you know where to look. 

LinkedIn is a good place to start, yet, from my experience, it pales in comparison to finding a face-to-face writers group where you can swap celebrations and disappointments while engaging in the craft of writing. My attendance has been spotty as of late, but when I attended a writers group through my church, it was uplifting to know many writers struggled with the same fears, uncertainties and doubts I did. Even more valuable? Tips and suggestions to squashing the fear and get on with writing a story that only you can tell. 

Starting a writing project of any length – a short summary for a work project or a lengthy white paper to motivate your customers to investigate your solution – will require solo, heads-down effort. Don’t neglect, however, the importance of tapping into a community of like-minded professionals who desire to help everyone improve as writers.

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One of the highlights of my time with the LCRA was organizing and executing two Cybersecurity summits. Cybersecurity’s importance touches every industry and government organizations are particularly vulnerable because they don’t have the budgets, tools, people, or processes that are commonplace in the private sector. 

Many of LCRA’s power and water customers aren’t flush with cash. These cities provide city services to residents with staff that are underpaid, overworked and stretched thin. Unlike some of the wealthier towns and suburbs, many of LCRA’s smallest Central Texas customers boast hard-working people; many of whom rely on agriculture, farming or tourism to make ends meet. 

The elected officials for these towns know cybersecurity’s critical role, yet they can’t afford to hire the best and brightest to proactively keep city data and systems safe and resilient. The IT resource at small towns across Central Texas is often the person who does a little of everything for the city: helping out with accounting, answering technical questions from staff, and doing his or her best to find insight within all the data at a city’s fingertips. Despite cybersecurity’s ever-growing importance in a city’s present and future, the practice never gets the attention – or resources – it truly deserves. 

LCRA is blessed with leaders who know the wants and needs of the people they serve – and they aren’t afraid to act when it is the right thing to do. During multiple conversations and check-in meetings with city staff, it became clear that Central Texas cities were paralyzed by fear, uncertainty and doubt related to cybersecurity’s best practices, including tools, staffing, and processes. They needed help and they trusted LCRA to guide them to a place of confidence. 

For LCRA, Cybersecurity will always be an area augmented with smart folks using tools and processes that are battle-tested. Since LCRA owns critical infrastructure (power lines, substations, and dams), cybersecurity is and will always be a top priority for the organization. During my time with the LCRA, I was impressed by the depth of knowledge of the Cybersecurity team. 

• How would this knowledge be used for the good of Central Texas cities? 
• How could we help educate overworked city staff on cybersecurity opportunities and challenges? 

Sensing opportunity and a pressing need to help, the LCRA Cybersecurity Summit was born. 

At the event, cyber gurus from state and federal agencies presented the data security threats they face every day. Most importantly, they shared the cyber aware proactive posture all must embody in order to keep assets and information safe and resilient. Available resources were discussed to help Texas cities put cybersecurity and governance plans in place that wouldn’t interrupt their ability to serve their customers. 

Within the 1st hour, we observed an event that was alive with energy. The sessions were packed. The presenters were overwhelmed with questions at the conclusion of every presentation and discussion. This, however, was not the most important aspect of the cybersecurity summit. The most valuable parts of the event were the discussions in the hallways and tables before and after each presentation. During this time, the staff and elected officials for Central Texas cities shared what was working and not working when it came to cybersecurity. 

I had a chance to participate in a number of these side discussions and was amazed that nearly all the cities faced the same challenges — challenges that may have never been voiced if LCRA did not ‘get out of the building’ and listen to the market they serve. 

• How do you keep track of and monitor the ever-changing list of standards, regulations and governance mandates? 
• What does a cybersecurity staff look like? And how many folks are you planning on bringing in over the next few years? 
• What skills should you be considering when hiring cybersecurity experts? 
• Our systems got breached last year and it cost us dearly. How can I ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again? 

Through the active discussions over the course of two cybersecurity summits, LCRA customers felt more informed and poised to proactively monitor and respond to cybersecurity incidents. Getting out of the building has HUGE upside.

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As a community manager for VersionOne, a leading Agile tools and training company now merged with CollabNet, I had the incredible opportunity to lead the Agilepalooza ‘franchise’. Agilepalooza was a conference series for beginning and experienced agilists to come together and learn from the best and brightest in the industry about agile – how to put it into practice and then scale the mindset and framework throughout an enterprise. 

Over the course of nearly two years, VersoinOne hosted countless Agilepalooza events from San Jose to Boston, and Chicago, investing in getting out of the building to learn from the community about how they were adopting agile to fit their unique culture. 

These events did much more than just embed VersionOne into the community. They also gave us incredible product feedback for our burgeoning SaaS agile tool.

• How were people using it? 
• What use cases weren’t we aware of during a sprint planning session or a daily standup?
• What were teams and executives learning about how they get work done?

The events weren’t a ‘sales-led’ activity, although, when appropriate, we’d demo our product and listened intently to what the market was saying. Sales reps, sales engineers, and product managers — all frequent teammates of mine during these events — scribbled notes furiously as we knew the importance of this market feedback for our product management, product development, executive and sales teams. 

Agilepalooza was never about VersionOne positioning the organization as the experts. Our market, especially a highly-technical and skeptical one, would see through this ruse in a heartbeat. Our goal was to nurture conversations between attendees about the challenges they were facing when starting or scaling agile. Our partners – a curated group of experts and partners from across the United States – did a masterful job at delivering most of the Agilepalooza content. Whether it was a roundtable discussion about how to move from one agile team to multiple teams or a engaging, interactive presentation about tips and tricks to spark a more collaborative mindset amongst all team members, the event always packed the house and left the attendees buzzing with excitement and ready to implement change back at their office. 

Everyone bellows the term, ‘thought leader’ — as if saying it shall make it so. Becoming a thought leader doesn’t happen overnight. It takes continual, consistent engagement with a community already overwhelmed with information and content. Blogging, emailing targeted messages, and hosting informative Webinars are all steps in the right direction to becoming a thought leader in your industry, yet nothing can replace leading helpful debates and discussions with your community – outside of the building.

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Sound familiar? 

I experienced this first hand at Hoover’s Online earlier in my career. As a fairly successful ‘dot com’, the service had a strong customer base and the team crafted a well-researched roadmap. We seemed to check all the boxes for new features and functionality with an aim towards growing market share and keeping competitors at bay. 

With a new product launch on the horizon, things were status quo with the team: requirements documents were written, prototypes were being built and details of the new features/functions were being discovered by a hungry sales team eager to sell something new. Everyone was overzealous to get this new release into the hands of our customers. 

Then, out of the blue, a team member said: 

“I think we need to do some usability testing.”

The voice was our usability researcher, an underrated resource who always spoke confidently with the customer’s interest at the center of all decision-making. 

Reaction to the ‘usability’ proclamation was met with rampant, violent opposition. 

“There’s no time for that,” said the sales executive. “Let’s just get the new features out there so we can start selling.”

“We’ll do that later. We have a good sense of what the customers want. We can table the usability session for next launch,” said another company executive who always commanded the respect of many within the organization. 

The usability researcher spoke up again, pausing everyone in their tracks. 

“Why don’t we put some of these new features and functions in front of our actual customers BEFORE we launch? Based on what they share, we can refine the offering, making it even more compelling for a wider audience. This worked incredibly well at my last company. Why don’t we give it a shot?”

After much discussion, the launch date was put on hold while we recruited some customers in Dallas, Texas for a usability session. The usability researcher took the lead in defining the goals for the session, the target audience, and the expected outcomes. For most of the company, this was brand new territory, and there was still some skepticism, but all were intrigued at what we could learn. 

Over the course of two days, we showed customers and potential prospects a new version of the Hoover’s Online service. Any preconceived notions or hunches we had about how and why people used the product were shattered. In our short-sighted heads, we thought we had ‘answers’ in the building, yet we were blind to most of the story. 

Here’s what we learned: 

Within Hoover’s HQ, we thought everyone knew and understood the different subscription levels (Lite, Pro, and Pro Plus) and the features and tools included in each level. Strangely, we believed customers actively researched our subscription levels and knew what upgrading to the next level meant in terms of new functionality. Wrong. Of the 10 ‘usability interviews’ I watched, not one person knew the level of subscription they had with Hoover’s Online. 

The comments about subscription levels from customers hit us right in the mouth: 

“Oh, I don’t know about subscriptions. I just log in and it works. I think someone in purchasing picked our level for us.”

“I never think about that. I just want to get to the information I need.”

“I didn’t even know there were levels. I just thought we got access to everything.”

This feedback helped us rethink how customers purchase and consume the product. Additionally, it assisted in how we built ‘trap doors’, ‘mousetraps’ or ‘roadblocks’ for features not included in that customer’s subscription level. Customers understood why we needed to upsell certain features in other subscription levels, yet they hated running into them, classifying them as ‘a waste of time.’ One savvy user recommended that we just log the number of times a user runs into an inaccessible feature in a usage report for the admin at their company – usually the person championing any upgrades for a product. 

No matter who smart the folks in the building are — the real answers lie outside the building within the hearts and minds of your customers. Usability testing, a oft-ignored tactic to gain market sentiment and real world feedback can be an incredible game changer if your team listens and incorporates the feedback into the product. The best sessions I’ve participated in were ‘face-to-face’ sessions – and they are incredibly high-value if you can nail the ‘3Ps’ logistical details of place, participants and purpose. If budgets are a concern, there are many Web tools that allow for effective remote usability testing. 

Trust me – it never works to wing it. Consider some form of usability testing BEFORE you bring those prized features to market.

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“I’ve ‘been there, done that’.”

“I know exactly what the market needs.” 

“Just listen to me – this will work. Our customers WILL buy this.”

If you’ve been around the business world awhile, you’ve heard these phrases uttered by founders of start-ups and leaders of business units at larger firms. If these beliefs and sentiments are deep rooted and non negotiable, your company’s fate may be doomed. 

The reality, however, is this:
Experience is great, but markets change rapidly. If you infrequently interact with your customers, you’ll miss out on solving needs which could make or break your organization.  

The days, quarters and years of your customers’ past are helpful, yet you must stay vigilant with how and what your customers’ worlds will look like tomorrow. Let’s cut to the chase:  your storied experience is impressive, but it is dated. If you don’t engage (early, often and always) with your customers, you won’t know how and why their world is changing. And if you don’t know and understand how their world is changing – your products and services will become irrelevant. Your portfolio of ‘can’t miss’ products and services will be attempting to solve problems which are no longer critical to the markets you serve. 

Over my career, I’ve been front and center watching teams and organizations become ensnared in this predictable trap. The busyness of doing becomes more important than clarifying the what we are doing’ and why that is the best path forward for the market we serve. Keep reading to learn from these missteps and how I quickly responded and listened to the market, giving them just what they need to solve pressing problems.

It’s the Webcam, Dan. It’s the Webcam

Straight out of graduate school and in the epicenter of the Internet boom years, I joined an early-stage startup with one singular goal: educate and inspire TV broadcasters to get online and figure out a path to profitability. We were pitching television stations on the concept of building a virtual community, a digital home where viewers could talk politics, discuss local news, and explore local businesses. 

My friends and business co-founders and I had developed an amazing toolset capable of transforming a television station on-air product into Web-ready news, weather and sports content. Our team coded into the night to make sure our first TV client, WCPO-TV (in beautiful and woefully underrated Cincinnati, Ohio) was ready to go from a static Web presence to an organic, ever-changing and a prized destination on Day One. 

Being a young and eager team, we knew we had much to learn so we got out of the building frequently (it was a short drive from our HQ to WCPO-TV), communicating with the key stakeholders at the station: the news director, programming director, sports director and lead meteorologist. Fortunately, we didn’t equate our broadcasting classroom education (bachelor’s and master’s degrees) as a proxy for knowing the market. You can read about the broadcast industry, but you don’t really know the industry until you feel the pressure of sweeps week, sense the anxiety to prep content for the upcoming newscast, or grind through a meeting with a news director who is frustrated by the lack of fresh, new ideas from the team. 

After visiting with countless stakeholders, we were told by numerous ‘insiders’ at the station to meet with the Director of Special Projects, Hasker Nelson. “Hasker is our Web guy,” we were told. 

Hasker didn’t fit the mold of a ‘web guy’. With prolific grey hair and a stern demeanor, Hasker was a man who demanded results for all the projects he participated in – and the web site was no different. He had a plan and he wanted to execute on that plan. Hasker didn’t like fancy and flashy – he craved efficiency and effectiveness.

My first meeting with Hasker went like this: 

“Hasker, let me show you all the cool functionality you can add to your Web site in just a few minutes. It is super easy to update,” I said, racing so fast I am surprised I had time to breathe. 

Hasker looked at me with calm eyes and a furrowed brow and said nothing. 

Mistakenly, instead of asking him about his experience with the web site and the site’s visitors, I kept talking, rattling on about incredible functionality and amazing, can’t live without features. 

Hasker looked at me, paused, waited another five seconds and said: “Can I share what I’ve heard from our Web visitors? You know I’ve been running our site for a few years now.”

I nodded while instantly regretting putting my needs before the needs of the customer. 

“We have a number of cameras positioned on buildings across the city. Our viewers have told us they’d like to see these cameras on the Website. All that other stuff you mentioned for our site sounds great, but we need to listen to our customers. And our customers want Webcams.”

I resisted the urge to politic for our newest, latest and greatest functionality – streaming content, interactive polling, quizzes. Reluctantly, I bit my tongue and did the best thing I could do under the circumstances – listen to the customers and the wise, philosophical, and dogmatic Mr. Nelson. 

Over the course of the next few days, we coded and built the UI to give the Webcams a prominent place on the television station’s Website. Within hours after launch, the Webcams surged to the top of the station’s web statistics. The sales team sold sponsorships for the pages and the on-air talent gleefullly promoted the web site during their nightly newscast – something we could never get them to do before. 

Thank you Hasker Nelson for teaching our team the valuable lesson of putting customers first. If we would have naively stayed in our home office, not giving WCPO staff the platform to share and partner in their new web journey, we would have missed out an ‘under the radar’ feature that got the web site moving ‘up and to the right’. 

Getting out of the building pays – big time.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of The Answer is ALWAYS Outside the Building

Until next time,

Dan Naden

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Over the course of viewing countless episodes, a few themes arise, separating the successful business owners (those able to strike a favorable deal) versus those who walk away empty-handed. These lessons could help any entrepreneur or business owner who’s looking to scale a customer base. Let’s face it. We won’t be in this economic malaise forever. Start learning and growing now for what’s next. 

1. Exude Passion: If you don’t exude ‘unbridled, resilient enthusiasm’ for the market you serve, your chances of survival will plummet faster than our retirement accounts during the Covid-19 outbreak. Your passion will help you persevere when the waters get rough – a big customer chooses a competitor instead of you, a new product launch fails to meet expectations, or a key financing package falls through at the last minute, putting your business operations at risk. 
   
   
2. Own your Story: People remember stories with characters, conflict and resolution — not facts, features and fancy slogans. Become a shrewd storyteller and you put the problems you solve into the context of your buyer. The best pitches on Shark Tank start with an emotional, poignant story about how the entrepreneur first discovers his or her zeal for the business or about how he or she dazzles customer #1 and see larger market potential for the product/service. 
   
   
3. Turn a Product into a Business: The Sharks have seen it all. They’ve invested in and started products which went from nothing to taking over the world. And they are savvy and can sniff out a fad quickly. Your product may be DOA because it can’t evolve beyond ‘version 1.0’. If your product can’t morph into a platform or an ecosystem of ancillary products or services, it may dissolve into nothing. If a Shark or VC firm decides to invest in your ‘product’, you must clearly show a definitive roadmap, including a series of market-driven and intuitive products and services. A one-trick pony will never have staying power in a chaotic business world. 
   

If you plan on watching television during this outbreak, stay informed with news, but find some time to get you and your family learning and expanding their business minds by watching Shark Tank — it’s time well-spent. 

Got a favorite episode? Or another business show on your must-watch list? Share in the comments below. 

Until next time, 

Dan Naden

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