Asking “Why?” Opens-up the Solution Set
Entrepreneurs and innovators doing customer development interviews should always remember to peel back the onion.
If you’ve ever been in the consulting business, you know that the problem a client hires you for is usually not the problem the client actually has.
Last week I had a call with a the founders of a venture that has been running successfully for a couple of years. “Our growth has leveled-out and we need to raise a big round of equity capital”, they told me.
I asked them why.
“Well, because to take things to the next level we need to hire a sales team and invest heavily in marketing to reach new customers”.
I asked them why.
“Well, because our products are selling well through small distributors but we can’t get to the really big distributors that would reach more customers”.
I asked them why.
“Because the big distributors want 90-day terms and that presents a cash-flow problem for us”.
Bingo.
So they don’t really need a big round of equity capital to hire their own sales team, they really just need a simple non-dilutive line of credit in order to serve additional distributors.
Here’s the point of this: When problem-solving, asking “why?” tends to open up the solution set.
This is particularly true for entrepreneurs who are conducting customer interviews. Your goal is to create products that solve problems in innovative ways, right? So when a customer mentions a problem they have, make sure you ask why it’s a problem.
A series of “why” questions peels back the onion and may expose unexpected insights. And unexpected insights are where innovation comes from.
Asking “why” opens up the solution set.
Adapted from my weekly newsletter for entrepreneurs and innovators.
