By Chantal Jenoure
Yes, Agile was created by software developers for software development, but it has evolved to become applicable to so many other areas. No matter which field, the values remain the same and the aim is to deliver value to the end-user.
So too, your business exists to fulfill a customer’s need or desire. For most businesses, the traditional way you served your customers may not be practical today. So why not start with making some small adjustments?
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| Photo by Bluehouse Skis on Unsplash |
Use Design Thinking to better understand and serve your customers. In a previous blog post, Kori Solomon explained how it works. Begin “with invoking empathy; defining a problem or opportunity; then moving into ideating a solution for the problem; prototyping it and testing.” Read more about what he had to say here.
Gather Customer Insights to understand how your customers’ wants and needs may have changed under these circumstances. Find new pain points to solve and create new products and services to meet those needs.
Get Customer feedback to know what your customers think about the new or updated elements you have introduced or changed. Customer feedback validates your thinking and gives you the confidence to continue down that path. If the feedback reveals that’s not the correct path, quickly pivot. It’ll make no sense to continue investing time and money into a solution that your customers will not embrace.
Experiment with different things to see what your customers are gravitating towards and then do more of that. Sometimes, we invest heavily in an idea that we “think” our customers would like or love, but it ends up not satisfying their need or attracting them.
You can start by making these adjustments in one area of your business. After you’ve seen the results, figure out how to apply it to other areas, even if it’s just one department at a time.
