Comprehensive Problem Identification Methodology Guide

The Philosophy of Problem Identification

Why Problem Identification is Critical

Problem identification is the foundation of all successful innovation and entrepreneurship. Without proper problem identification, you risk:

Building solutions nobody wants (90% of startups fail due to lack of market need)
Wasting resources on superficial or wrong problems
Creating products that don’t create real value
Missing the root causes that drive meaningful change
Failing to achieve product-market fit

The famous quote by Einstein applies here: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes defining the problem and 5 minutes solving it.”

The Hierarchy of Problem Understanding

Problems exist in nested layers of complexity:

Symptoms (what you observe)
Problems (what causes the symptoms)
Root Causes (what causes the problems)
System Dynamics (what perpetuates the root causes)

Most failed solutions address symptoms rather than root causes.

1. MACRO PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

What is a Macro Problem?

A macro problem is a large-scale, systemic issue that affects significant portions of society or humanity. These problems typically:

Impact millions or billions of people
Persist across multiple countries/cultures
Have been recognized by global institutions
Require coordinated efforts to solve
Connect to fundamental human needs or rights

Why Start with Macro Problems?

1. Provides Global Context and Legitimacy

Validates importance: If it’s a recognized global issue, it matters
Attracts stakeholders: Investors, partners, and customers care about meaningful problems
Creates mission alignment: Teams rally around purposeful work
Enables scale thinking: Solutions can potentially impact millions

2. Ensures Market Size and Sustainability

Large addressable markets: Global problems = global opportunities
Long-term relevance: These problems won’t disappear overnight
Multiple solution approaches: Room for various business models
Stakeholder investment: Governments, NGOs, and corporations fund solutions

3. Connects to Existing Frameworks and Resources

UN SDGs provide roadmap: Clear targets and indicators
Funding availability: Development finance, impact investment, grants
Research foundation: Extensive data and studies available
Partnership opportunities: Align with existing initiatives

How to Identify Macro Problems

Step 1: Start with Global Frameworks

UN Sustainable Development Goals: 17 goals covering major world challenges
World Economic Forum Global Risks: Annual reports on systemic risks
WHO Health Priorities: Global health challenges
World Bank Development Indicators: Economic and social development gaps

Step 2: Analyze Trend Data and Projections

Demographic trends: Aging populations, urbanization, migration
Environmental trends: Climate change, resource scarcity, pollution
Technological trends: Digital divides, automation impacts, AI ethics
Social trends: Inequality, social cohesion, cultural changes

Step 3: Cross-Reference Multiple Sources

Academic research: Peer-reviewed studies on global challenges
Government reports: National and international policy documents
NGO publications: Reports from organizations working on specific issues
Media analysis: Persistent coverage of certain issues over time

Step 4: Validate Problem Persistence and Scale

Ask yourself:
- Has this problem existed for at least 5-10 years?
- Does it affect at least 100 million people globally?
- Is it getting worse or staying consistently problematic?
- Do multiple credible sources identify it as significant?
- Are substantial resources already being allocated to address it?

Example: Education Quality Crisis (SDG 4)

Global Scale Evidence:

617 million children and adolescents cannot read or do basic math
Learning poverty affects 53% of children in low and middle-income countries
$39 trillion in lifetime earnings are at stake due to learning losses
COVID-19 set back education progress by years

Why This Qualifies as Macro Problem:

Affects billions across all continents
Recognized by UN, World Bank, UNESCO
Connects to economic development, poverty reduction, social mobility
Has persistent, measurable indicators
Attracts significant global investment and attention

2. MICRO PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

What is a Micro Problem?

A micro problem is a specific, observable manifestation of a macro problem that is:

Clearly defined and measurable
Actionable with available resources
Affects a specific group of people
Has identifiable root causes
Can be addressed through targeted interventions

Why Drill Down to Micro Problems?

1. Makes Problems Solvable

Finite scope: You can actually address it with limited resources
Clear success metrics: You know when you’ve solved it
Testable hypotheses: You can validate solutions quickly
Manageable complexity: Doesn’t require solving everything at once

2. Enables Customer Focus

Specific user groups: You know exactly who has this problem
Concrete pain points: You can understand specific frustrations
Behavioral insights: You can observe how people currently cope
Solution validation: You can test with real affected people

3. Creates Business Opportunities

Market segments: Specific groups willing to pay for solutions
Value propositions: Clear benefits you can deliver
Competitive positioning: Distinct from generic solutions
Revenue models: Specific ways to monetize solutions

How to Identify Micro Problems

Step 1: Decompose the Macro Problem

Start with your macro problem and break it into constituent issues:

Example: Education Quality Crisis →

Students aren’t learning foundational skills
Teachers lack adequate training and resources
Educational content isn’t relevant to job market
Assessment systems don’t measure real learning
Technology isn’t being used effectively
Students aren’t developing critical thinking skills

Step 2: Apply the “5 Whys” Technique

Drill down to root causes:

Example:

Problem: Students aren’t learning foundational skills
Why? They’re not engaged in the learning process
Why? The content doesn’t connect to their experience
Why? Curriculum is standardized and not personalized
Why? Teachers don’t have tools for personalization
Why? Educational technology doesn’t support individual learning paths

Step 3: Use the PESTAL Framework

Analyze different dimensions:

Political: Policy barriers, regulatory constraints
Economic: Funding limitations, cost barriers
Social: Cultural attitudes, social norms
Technological: Technology gaps, digital divides
Environmental: Physical environment constraints
Legal: Legal frameworks, compliance requirements

Step 4: Observe and Interview Stakeholders

Key Questions to Ask:
- What frustrates you most about [macro problem area]?
- What specific situations cause you the most difficulty?
- How do you currently try to solve this?
- What would make the biggest difference in your daily experience?
- What have you tried that didn't work?

Step 5: Quantify and Validate

Make the problem specific and measurable:

Who exactly is affected? (demographics, psychographics, geography)
How many people? (market size, frequency)
How severe is the impact? (time lost, money spent, emotional cost)
How often does it occur? (daily, weekly, seasonal)
What evidence exists? (studies, surveys, behavioral data)

Micro Problem Quality Check

A good micro problem should be:
✓ Observable: You can see it happening
✓ Measurable: You can quantify its impact
✓ Actionable: You can potentially solve it
✓ Valuable: People care enough to pay for solutions
✓ Accessible: You can reach the affected people
✓ Urgent: People need solutions now, not eventually

Example: AI Copy-Paste in Student Assignments

Macro Problem Connection: Education Quality Crisis (students not developing critical thinking)

Specific Micro Problem:

Who: Secondary school students (ages 13-18) with internet access
What: Copying AI-generated content directly into assignments
Impact: 64% of students admit to copy-paste behavior
Frequency: Happening in 70% of written assignments
Consequences: Students not developing writing and thinking skills
Stakeholder Pain: Teachers can’t assess real learning, spend extra time investigating

Why This is a Good Micro Problem:

Specific and observable behavior
Clear metrics for success (reduction in copy-paste)
Identifiable customer segments (teachers, students, schools)
Solvable with technology and process changes
Connected to larger education quality issue

3. CUSTOMER SEGMENT ANALYSIS

What is Customer Segment Analysis?

Customer segment analysis is the deep understanding of specific groups who experience your micro problem. It involves:

Identifying who exactly has the problem
Understanding their context and constraints
Mapping their current behaviors and workarounds
Discovering their underlying motivations and needs
Validating their willingness to adopt solutions

Why Customer Segment Analysis is Essential

1. Solutions Must Fit Real Human Behavior

People are complex: Rational, emotional, and social factors all matter
Context matters: Same person behaves differently in different situations
Habits are strong: Solutions must overcome existing behavioral patterns
Change is hard: Must understand what motivates people to change

2. Different Segments Have Different Needs

Students vs. Teachers: Same problem, different perspectives
Urban vs. Rural: Same problem, different constraints
Age groups: Different comfort with technology and change
Economic levels: Different willingness and ability to pay

3. Enables Product-Market Fit

Feature prioritization: Build what matters most to your segment
Messaging: Communicate in ways that resonate
Pricing: Align with segment’s value perception and budget
Distribution: Reach segments where they already are

How to Conduct Customer Segment Analysis

Step 1: Identify Potential Segments

Consider multiple dimensions:

Demographics: Age, income, education, location
Psychographics: Values, attitudes, lifestyle, personality
Behavioral: Usage patterns, loyalty, decision-making process
Needs-based: Different jobs they’re trying to get done
Contextual: Different situations where problem occurs

Step 2: Choose Primary Segment

Evaluate segments based on:

Problem intensity: How much does this segment feel the pain?
Solution access: Can you reach and serve this segment?
Economic value: Will they pay enough to make business viable?
Growth potential: Is this segment growing or stable?
Strategic fit: Does this align with your capabilities and vision?

Step 3: Create Detailed Customer Personas

For your chosen segment, develop:

Demographic profile: Basic characteristics
Day-in-the-life: How they spend their time
Problem context: When and where they experience the problem
Current solutions: How they cope today
Influences: Who and what affects their decisions
Goals and frustrations: What drives their behavior

The Jobs-to-be-Done Framework

What are Jobs-to-be-Done?

Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) is a framework for understanding what customers are really trying to accomplish when they “hire” a product or service. It recognizes that people don’t buy products, they buy progress.

Why JTBD is Powerful

Reveals true motivations: Goes beyond stated preferences to real needs
Identifies innovation opportunities: Gaps between desired and current outcomes
Guides feature development: Focus on helping customers make progress
Predicts customer behavior: Understand switching triggers and loyalty drivers

Types of Jobs

Functional Jobs (Practical Tasks)

What customers are trying to practically accomplish:

Main job: Primary reason for seeking solution
Related jobs: Connected tasks in the broader process
Emotional jobs: How they want to feel while doing the job
Social jobs: How they want to be perceived by others

Example – Teacher Grading Assignments:

Main job: Assess student learning accurately
Related jobs: Provide feedback, track progress, report to parents
Emotional jobs: Feel confident in assessment quality
Social jobs: Be seen as fair and effective teacher

Emotional Jobs (Feelings and Experiences)

How customers want to feel:

Confidence: Trust in their decisions and capabilities
Security: Safety and reduced anxiety
Achievement: Sense of progress and success
Connection: Belonging and relationship building
Status: Recognition and respect from others

Social Jobs (Image and Perception)

How customers want to be perceived:

Professional identity: How they want to be seen at work
Personal brand: Their reputation and image
Group belonging: Fitting in with desired communities
Leadership: Being seen as innovative or influential

How to Identify Jobs-to-be-Done

Step 1: Interview Customers About Situations

Focus on specific instances:

Questions to Ask:
- "Tell me about the last time you [experienced this problem]"
- "Walk me through what happened before, during, and after"
- "What were you trying to accomplish?"
- "How did you decide what to do?"
- "What would success have looked like?"
- "What made this situation particularly frustrating/important?"

Step 2: Map the Job Process

Understanding the full journey:

Trigger: What causes someone to start looking for solution?
Investigation: How do they explore options?
Selection: How do they choose among alternatives?
Implementation: How do they start using the solution?
Evaluation: How do they judge if it’s working?

Step 3: Identify Job Statements

Format: “When I [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome]”

Examples:

“When I’m grading student assignments, I want to know the work is authentic, so I can accurately assess their learning”
“When students submit work, I want to be sure they went through the thinking process, so they develop critical thinking skills”

Understanding Customer Pains

What are Customer Pains?

Pains are negative experiences, obstacles, and risks customers face when trying to get jobs done. They represent opportunities for solutions to create value by eliminating or reducing these negatives.

Types of Pains

Undesired Outcomes

Results customers want to avoid:

Financial losses: Wasted money, unexpected costs
Time waste: Inefficient processes, delays
Poor quality: Substandard results, errors
Missed opportunities: Lost chances, competitive disadvantage

Obstacles

Barriers that prevent customers from getting jobs done:

Lack of resources: Money, time, skills, information
Complexity: Too difficult to understand or implement
Accessibility: Can’t reach or use the solution
Compatibility: Doesn’t work with existing systems

Risks

Potential negative consequences:

Financial risk: Might lose money or investment
Functional risk: Might not work as expected
Social risk: Might look bad to others
Physical risk: Might cause harm
Emotional risk: Might cause stress or anxiety

How to Identify Customer Pains

Step 1: Direct Observation

Watch customers in action:

Workarounds: How do they cope with inadequate solutions?
Friction points: Where do they struggle or get stuck?
Emotional reactions: Signs of frustration, stress, or anxiety
Time and effort: How much energy do they expend?

Step 2: Pain Interviews

Ask specific questions:

Pain Discovery Questions:
- "What's the most frustrating part about [current situation]?"
- "What prevents you from [desired outcome]?"
- "What are you afraid might happen if...?"
- "How much time/money do you currently spend on...?"
- "What would you never want to happen again?"

Step 3: Pain Intensity Assessment

Rate pains by severity:

Extreme: “I would do almost anything to solve this”
Moderate: “This bothers me regularly”
Light: “Minor inconvenience”

Understanding Customer Gains

What are Customer Gains?

Gains are the positive outcomes and benefits customers want to achieve. They represent value creation opportunities.

Types of Gains

Required Gains (Must-Haves)

Basic expectations that solutions must meet:

Functional performance: Basic job gets done
Minimum quality: Meets basic standards
Acceptable cost: Within budget constraints

Expected Gains (Performance Gains)

Standard improvements customers expect:

Better performance: Faster, more accurate, more efficient
Lower costs: Reduced price or operating expenses
Higher quality: More reliable, more features
Convenience: Easier to use or access

Desired Gains (Aspirational)

Gains customers would love but don’t expect:

Significant performance improvement: 10x better outcomes
New capabilities: Things they couldn’t do before
Status enhancement: Makes them look good
Surprise benefits: Unexpected positive outcomes

Unexpected Gains (Delighters)

Benefits customers don’t even know they want:

Novel experiences: New ways of accomplishing goals
Ecosystem benefits: Positive impacts beyond main job
Future-proofing: Protection against future problems

How to Identify Customer Gains

Step 1: Outcome Interviews

Focus on desired end states:

Gain Discovery Questions:
- "What would the ideal solution look like?"
- "How would you measure success?"
- "What would make you tell others about this?"
- "If you could wave a magic wand..."
- "What would make this experience amazing?"

Step 2: Benchmark Against Alternatives

Compare to existing solutions:

Status quo: How do they do it today?
Competitors: What do other solutions offer?
Adjacent solutions: How do they solve similar problems?

Step 3: Value Hierarchy

Prioritize gains by importance:

Critical: Without this, solution is useless
Important: Significantly impacts adoption decision
Nice-to-have: Would be appreciated but not decisive

4. SOLUTION MAKING

What is Customer-Driven Solution Making?

Customer-driven solution making is the process of designing solutions that directly address identified customer jobs, pains, and gains. It ensures that what you build actually creates value for real people in real situations.

Why Solutions Must Be Customer-Driven

1. Customer Adoption Depends on Perceived Value

Value = Gains Created – Pains Eliminated – Cost of Solution
If customers don’t perceive clear value, they won’t adopt
Value perception is subjective and context-dependent
Must understand value from customer’s perspective, not yours

2. Feature Prioritization Must Align with Customer Priorities

Limited resources require tough choices about what to build
Customer pain intensity should drive feature priority
Gain importance determines value proposition strength
Job criticality affects solution adoption urgency

3. User Experience Must Eliminate Customer Obstacles

Every friction point reduces likelihood of adoption
Cognitive load must align with customer capabilities
Workflow integration determines ease of adoption
Learning curve affects time to value realization

Solution Design Framework

Step 1: Map Solutions to Customer Jobs

For each job customers are trying to do, design features that:

Enable job completion: Make the job possible or easier
Improve job performance: Make the job faster, better, cheaper
Remove job obstacles: Eliminate barriers to job completion
Enhance job experience: Make doing the job more pleasant

Example Mapping:

Customer Job: “Assess student learning authentically”
Solution Features:
- Typing-only interface (enables authentic assessment)
- Real-time analysis (improves assessment confidence)
- Integrated gradebook (removes workflow obstacles)
- Analytics dashboard (enhances assessment experience)

Step 2: Prioritize by Pain Elimination

Rank solution features by their potential to eliminate customer pains:

Extreme pain elimination: Must-have features
Moderate pain reduction: Important features
Light pain relief: Nice-to-have features

Pain-Solution Matrix:

High Pain, High Solution Impact = Priority 1
High Pain, Medium Solution Impact = Priority 2
Medium Pain, High Solution Impact = Priority 3
Medium Pain, Medium Solution Impact = Priority 4

Step 3: Design for Gain Delivery

Structure solutions to deliver customer gains:

Required gains: Core functionality that must work
Expected gains: Performance improvements over alternatives
Desired gains: Differentiation opportunities
Unexpected gains: Delight factors for competitive advantage

Step 4: Remove Customer Obstacles

Design user experience to eliminate identified obstacles:

Complexity reduction: Simplify interfaces and workflows
Resource constraints: Work within customer budgets and capabilities
Integration needs: Connect with existing systems and processes
Learning requirements: Minimize training and onboarding needs

Value Proposition Design

What is a Value Proposition?

A value proposition is a clear statement of the value your solution creates for customers. It communicates:

What job you help customers do
What pains you eliminate
What gains you deliver
How you’re different from alternatives

Value Proposition Formula

“We help [customer segment] who want to [job to be done] by [solution approach] so they can [gain delivered] without [pain eliminated].”

Example Value Propositions:

Generic: “Educational technology platform for teachers”
Customer-Driven: “We help secondary school teachers who want to assess authentic student learning by preventing copy-paste through typing-only assignments so they can confidently evaluate critical thinking skills without spending time investigating academic dishonesty”

Solution Validation Framework

Step 1: Problem-Solution Fit

Validate that your solution addresses real customer needs:

Customer interviews: Do customers confirm the problem exists?
Solution feedback: Do customers believe your approach would help?
Willingness to pay: Would customers pay for this solution?
Urgency assessment: How quickly do customers need this solved?

Step 2: Product-Market Fit

Test that customers will actually adopt and use your solution:

MVP testing: Do customers use a basic version?
Retention rates: Do customers continue using it?
Referral behavior: Do customers recommend it to others?
Expansion usage: Do customers use it more over time?

Step 3: Business Model Validation

Confirm you can sustainably deliver the solution:

Unit economics: Can you profitably serve each customer?
Scalability: Can you grow efficiently?
Market size: Is the addressable market large enough?
Competitive advantage: Can you maintain differentiation?

Integration: The Complete Problem Identification Process

The Sequential Flow

Macro Problem → Establishes importance and scale
Micro Problem → Makes it actionable and solvable
Customer Segment → Identifies who specifically is affected
Jobs/Pains/Gains → Understands what customers really need
Solution Design → Creates value through addressing real needs
Validation → Confirms customers will adopt and pay

Why This Sequence Matters

Each step validates and refines the previous ones:

Macro problems ensure you’re working on something important
Micro problems ensure you can actually solve it
Customer segments ensure someone cares enough to pay
Jobs/Pains/Gains ensure you understand what creates value
Solutions ensure you can deliver that value
Validation ensures customers will actually adopt it

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Starting with Solutions

Mistake: “I have a great idea for an app”
Problem: No validation that anyone needs this
Fix: Start with problems, not solutions

2. Assuming You Know Customer Needs

Mistake: “Obviously customers want this”
Problem: Your assumptions may be wrong
Fix: Interview customers extensively

3. Focusing Only on Functional Needs

Mistake: Ignoring emotional and social jobs
Problem: Misses key adoption drivers
Fix: Understand the full spectrum of customer needs

4. Building Everything at Once

Mistake: Trying to solve all problems for all customers
Problem: Spreads resources too thin
Fix: Focus on biggest pains for specific segments

5. Ignoring Business Model Validation

Mistake: Assuming customers will pay for valuable solutions
Problem: Value doesn’t always translate to revenue
Fix: Test willingness to pay early and often

This comprehensive problem identification methodology ensures you build solutions that customers actually want, need, and will pay for by deeply understanding the problems you’re solving and the people who have them.

1. Customer Jobs

Understanding customer jobs is the first step toward building meaningful products and services. These jobs represent what customers are trying to achieve in their daily lives, both at work and personally. Without a clear view of customer jobs, businesses risk creating solutions that look attractive internally but fail to connect with real market needs.

Jobs can be categorized into three main types. Functional jobs are practical tasks such as paying bills, organizing data, or booking travel. Social jobs focus on how customers want to be perceived by others, like looking professional, being recognized as eco-friendly, or being considered knowledgeable. Personal/emotional jobs focus on feelings customers want to experience, such as security, relaxation, or inspiration.

But identifying jobs is not enough; companies must learn how to create solutions around them. The process starts with mapping jobs and then asking: Which jobs can we realistically support with our current resources? For example, a startup with limited technical expertise should avoid chasing overly complex jobs at first. Instead, they should target jobs they can already address with existing skills, tools, or partnerships.

After resource-mapping, the next step is validation. It’s easy to assume we know what customers want, but assumptions often mislead. This is why customer interviews are critical. Interview questions should focus on real experiences, not hypotheticals:

“Can you describe the last time you tried to complete this task?”
“What part of the process was the most difficult for you?”
“What do you usually do to make this easier?”

These open-ended questions reveal whether the job is frequent, important, and painful enough to merit a solution.

Equally important is remembering that the same customers you interview should later be invited as your pilot testers. Since they’ve already shared their struggles, they are ideal for trying out the first version of your product. This approach ensures you test your solution with people who truly care about the job being solved.

The cycle looks like this:

Identify jobs through observation and research.
Filter based on available resources.
Validate through customer interviews.
Build a simple prototype (MVP) addressing one key job.
Pilot with interviewees.
Collect feedback, refine, and repeat.

In summary, jobs highlight what customers want to achieve, but choosing a solution means balancing what customers need with what your team can realistically deliver today. By focusing on validated jobs and testing with real customers, you ensure your resources are used efficiently while building products that matter.

2. Customer Pains

If jobs tell us what customers are trying to accomplish, pains reveal what makes those jobs difficult. Customer pains represent obstacles, frustrations, risks, or inefficiencies customers face when trying to get things done. These are the “pressure points” where customers feel stuck or dissatisfied — and they’re often the best opportunities for innovation.

Pains can be grouped into three main types. Obstacles include things that make the process harder, like complicated forms, long waiting times, or hard-to-use apps. Risks are potential negative outcomes, such as losing money, making mistakes, or damaging one’s reputation. Undesired experiences are emotional frustrations, like feeling stressed, anxious, or embarrassed when using a product or service.

The key to designing solutions for pains is prioritization. Not every pain is worth solving. Businesses should focus on the biggest and most frequent pains, since solving these creates the highest value. For example, a delivery service might discover customers complain about two things: “high delivery fees” and “lack of real-time tracking.” If resources are limited, solving the tracking problem first may deliver more perceived value, especially if interviews reveal it causes major anxiety.

This is where validation through customer interviews becomes crucial. Instead of assuming which pains matter most, ask customers to describe their experiences:

“What frustrates you the most about this process?”
“What’s the last time you felt stressed using this solution?”
“How much of a problem is this for you on a scale of 1–10?”

These questions uncover whether the pain is minor (just an annoyance) or major (a problem customers would pay to fix). Customers who confirm their pains strongly are also the best candidates for early product testing.

From a resource standpoint, businesses should design solutions that can realistically remove or reduce pains without overextending their capabilities. For example, a small startup may not be able to eliminate high delivery fees entirely, but they could ease the pain by offering scheduled deliveries or loyalty points as compensation. The principle is to focus on what you can build now while still delivering relief to the customer.

After identifying the top pains and filtering them through resource capacity, the next step is creating a minimum viable product (MVP) that directly addresses these pains. This could be a prototype app, a simplified service, or even a manual workaround system tested with interviewees.

Finally, the validation loop continues. The same customers interviewed about pains should be the ones testing whether the solution actually reduces those pains. Their feedback is essential to determine if the product is truly valuable or if adjustments are needed.

Focusing on pains allows companies to design pain relievers that customers immediately appreciate. By combining resource awareness with customer validation, businesses avoid building “nice-to-have” features and instead focus on solving the pains that matter most.

3. Customer Gains

While jobs describe goals and pains reveal frustrations, gains highlight the positive outcomes and benefits customers hope to achieve. Gains represent what customers would consider a success, improvement, or even delight when completing their jobs. Businesses that understand and deliver gains go beyond problem-solving — they create products that inspire loyalty.

Gains can be divided into four categories. Required gains are the basic benefits customers expect (e.g., a payment must process successfully). Expected gains are features customers assume will be present, like reasonable speed or user-friendly design. Desired gains are those customers would like to have, such as extra convenience or customization. Unexpected gains are surprises that delight customers, such as rewards, personalization, or gamified experiences.

When choosing which gains to pursue, companies must again balance between what customers value most and what resources allow. Delivering all possible gains at once is rarely realistic. Instead, start with validated gains that align closely with the most important customer jobs. For instance, if students preparing for exams identify “tracking progress” as a desired gain, building a simple progress bar may be more impactful than developing advanced features like AI tutors, which may require heavy resources.

Customer interviews are critical for validating gains. Effective questions include:

“What would make this experience ideal for you?”
“If you could wave a magic wand, what would this solution give you?”
“What kind of bonus or extra feature would make you recommend this to a friend?”

The answers help distinguish between “must-have” gains and “nice-to-have” ones. The goal is to deliver at least one or two significant gains in the early solution so customers feel the difference compared to their current options.

It’s important to note that gains are often emotional as well as functional. Customers don’t just want to save time or money — they also want to feel confident, proud, or inspired. For example, a freelancer might appreciate lower fees in a payment platform (functional gain), but feeling professional because they can send branded invoices may actually be the more powerful motivator. Businesses that connect with these deeper emotional gains create stronger bonds with customers.

Once prioritized, gains should be designed into the MVP alongside solutions for jobs and pains. The customers who were interviewed about gains are also the best testers for validating whether the solution delivers what they hoped for. If these customers say, “This is exactly what I needed,” you know the solution aligns with validated gains.

Finally, gains are where businesses can stand out from competitors. Many companies can remove pains, but fewer go the extra step of creating unexpected or delightful gains. This is often where innovation happens. For example, ride-hailing apps didn’t just solve the pain of finding taxis; they added gains like cashless payments, driver ratings, and ride-sharing options.

Customer gains show us what success and delight look like in the eyes of the customer. By validating and prioritizing the most valuable gains, building only what resources allow, and testing with early interviewees, businesses can design solutions that don’t just solve problems but also create memorable experiences customers love.

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