Fresh customer centered approach
Has this ever happened to you?:
An influential volunteer has an idea. They think it would be perfect for your organization. When they describe the idea it sounds really intriguing. There is revenue potential and it promises to more fully engage your constituents. After extensive planning and development the initiative launches with lots of internal fan fare. Yet very few people enroll. Internal discussion concludes that it must be the messaging. Marketing messages are tweaked and a new set of email blasts are designed and scheduled. But interest and enrollment remain low. What went wrong?
There is another way. Take a fresh new approach to developing new programs and services that puts your audience’s needs at the center. Apply a process that minimizes your risk by weeding out expensive mistakes early.
An influential volunteer has an idea. They think it would be perfect for your organization. When they describe the idea it sounds really intriguing. There is revenue potential and it promises to more fully engage your constituents. After extensive planning and development the initiative launches with lots of internal fan fare. Yet very few people enroll. Internal discussion concludes that it must be the messaging. Marketing messages are tweaked and a new set of email blasts are designed and scheduled. But interest and enrollment remain low. What went wrong?
There is another way. Take a fresh new approach to developing new programs and services that puts your audience’s needs at the center. Apply a process that minimizes your risk by weeding out expensive mistakes early.
What to expect
You will:
- Uncover key audiences unmet needs
- Create new offerings that are relevant based on their unmet needs
- Test your new ideas early with audiences before you spend a lot of money creating a program that is not really a fit.
- Abandon ideas that are not working before you invest much. Pivot to ensure success.
- Learn a replicable process that will enable your team to build the skills and have the resources to continue innovating in the future.
Five steps
Your situation and your constituents are unique and Grace Social Sector Consulting, LLC will partner with you to customize our approach. Creating new offerings typically includes five phases.
- Frame: Get clear about whom you are trying to serve, project parameters, stakeholders, your design question, design criteria and who will make up the design team.
- Discover: Get insights into your audience’s’ life. What makes them tick? What gets in their way? What problems might you be able to help solve?
- Brainstorm: Building on the insights you gain through discovery, your team engages in a variety of structured exercises to maximize creativity and build a number of concepts to test.
- Test: Gather audience feedback on your concepts
- Adjust: Adapt your concepts
What works
Organizations that benefit the most from this approach to creating new innovative offerings:
- Value meeting the needs of their constituents
- Are willing to take the time to understand the world from their constituents point of view
- Are open to feedback from stakeholders
- Are ready to try a new approach.