People to Products—Human Centered Design
Often, people assume they know what a customer wants before asking. And, sending out surveys or making a few phones calls use to be the extent of our industry’s marketing research.
To find a better way to perform marketing research, Function enrolled in a program called “Design Kit: The Course for Human Centered Design, ”sponsored by Acumen. According to their site, Acumen is “a non-profit venture fund helping to build a world beyond poverty through investing in companies that deliver critical goods and services in water, health, housing, energy, agriculture, and education. Acumen also supports leaders paving the way for new approaches to fighting poverty and promotes the spread of ideas that give participants the knowledge and the understanding to change how the world tackles poverty.”
This course allows us to not only give back to others, but also learn to apply the same research and problem solving methods to the Building and Construction Industry.
Things we’ve learned so far:
- The definition of human-centered design and methods to solve current challenges using straightforward approaches.
- Concept development and idea formation based on infield observations and experiments.
- Different ways to address challenges and the new perspective human-centered design can add to the work process.
- How to speak to the client, plan a solution, and test the strategy within the target audiences we hope to reach.
In the first part of the course, we’re learning about inspiration. Applying this to our industry, it means studying concrete methods of how to understand the needs and desires of the architects, builders and contractors we market to. Being knowledgeable about the target audience begins with research and is broken down into four segments. Read on to see how we’re helping our clients align these principals to their marketing research, planning, and efforts:
People To Learn From
“It’s about who you’re designing for.” -Acumen
You need to consider the user as well as the extended community. Within the building and construction industry, this method of thinking can be used for product development and launches as well as marketing campaigns. The curriculum encourages us to “imagine a map of all the people who might have something to do with the design challenge.”
For our industry, that map might include the architect as the influencer or the contractor as the product purchaser, but you also have to consider the building owner and the occupants. The course advises participants to speak with target audiences that might represent extreme as opposed to mainstream viewpoints.
Speak to Experts
“Who are the inspiring researchers or organizations influencing the space?” -Acumen
As it relates to the building industry, if you are considering a new product launch or a new vertical market, it is beneficial to ask, “Who are the leaders that might bring some insight into the new direction?” These individuals bring strong understanding of the field, products and audience you are looking to reach.
In-Context Immersion Locations
“Get out and get immersed in the areas and audiences relevant to your objectives.” -Acumen
For example, if you are launching a new product for an audience of builders get out into jobsites and ask the right questions. Don’t assume to know exactly what the target audience needs to complete their projects. Look for influences and challenges your audience faces. Those observations will add value to your insights and strategic planning.
Analogous Inspiration Locations
“What are the activities, emotions and behaviors that make up the experience of your target audience? Look for the scenarios you would like to observe in the places and situations that are different from your audience’s primary environment.” -Acumen
If the objective is to develop a new marketing campaign for building professionals, you can observe outside influences they come across in their daily lives. These secondary drivers are crucial to creating an emotional connection, allowing architects, builders and contractors to connect to the campaign.
Architects and building professionals face numerous challenges in the field, and your products and marketing efforts are evolving to reach them. Exploring the concept of a human-centered approach is just one way for us to help you apply innovative marketing strategies and insights to your work within this industry.
We hope you will follow along as we continue through this course and join us in the opportunity to add new marketing techniques to your toolkit. Whether your audience is designing a building or constructing a home, we will continue to share new ways to help our clients become better marketers.