Story + PD: Customer stories keep empathy present

Part of a series at the intersection of Storytelling and Product Development.

In Product Development, ICs and teams can get super focused on the technologies and processes to make The Thing. But when they look up from their work, and people seem to be confused about Why This Thing, there might not be good Who in the story. PD needs people to understand customers’ narratives so they can fit the product into customers’ lives effectively.

Telling customer journey stories keep customer needs and empathy present for everyone in the organization.  Whoever your customer is.

There are several types of Customer Stories:

• The Story of the Customer Journey

• Customer Success Stories

• Moments of Truth Stories 

• Stories of Customer Pain Points

• Stories of Product Requirements aka User Stories

Each of these could use some attention. Coming soon.