Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

Business Phone Solution Provider Vonjour.com Releases Guide to Creating Insanely Great Products Through Customer Support Driven Learning
  • USA - English


News provided by

Vonjour

May 20, 2014, 03:00 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

Vonjour
Vonjour

Santa Monica, CA (PRWEB) May 20, 2014 -- Startup businesses face significant amount of uncertainty. Is there a significant enough market for a product? What is the competitive landscape? Do we have the right team to to get the market to product? How much capital is required to go to market?

There are so many unknowns that come with creating a new venture. However, the most pressing issue a larval stage business needs to address is whether the product it is building is solving a real customer pain point and whether that paint point is large enough to scale a business.

It’s rarely the case that a startup becomes lured down a blind alley trying to make early users very happy.

Post this

Vonjour, a new cloud based phone system and customer support solution, has created a guide to help founders address startup uncertainties and scale a business through customer support driven learning. The goal of ‘lean customer support’ is to test initial assumptions of the business prior to making leap of faith investments into expensive software tools and customer support hires.

Customer feedback and rapid iteration based on early user engagement is an integral part of creating a successful startup business. Engaging heavily with early users is a difficult task that many founders often neglect. For most successful startups, however, over engaging with early users is a necessary part of the feedback loop that makes a product great.

Many successful startups build great products with less than a handful of customers in mind. The goal is not to customize a solution for one particular user, but to focus a product development team on the pain point’s of actual customers. Most importantly though, becoming a customer’s consultant allows the founding team to intimately understand the needs of a much larger target market.

Understanding the needs of users is one of the most important ways to prioritize feature product releases. One of the hardest parts of being an early stage company is prioritizing what aspects of a team’s vision to build out first.

With limited resources, startups constantly have to say no to seemingly good ideas to focus on the most urgent needs of their customers. Talking to users, however, allows early stage startups to discern patterns in customer pain points and prioritize feature releases that are most aligned with their customer’s needs. When multiple customers have a similar pain point or need a specific feature, it’s a good indication that the particular pain point represents an opportunity that the market has yet to address. The net effect of these early conversations with customers is a sense clarity in how to address a product roadmap.

In addition, early user feedback can guide product development teams to fine tune an early and un-refined product to achieve a product-market fit. Through this process, the development team can tweak their products to create what Steve Job’s called an “insanely” great user experience.

Prioritizing user happiness is a difficult task. Paul Graham suggested that Job’s was referring to a pathological dedication to making users happy—to the point where an outsider would consider the team slightly deranged in their obsession of providing customer happiness. “Insane,” viewed in such a lens, is very much so fitting. Great companies take execution and making users happy to extreme levels.

When launching Gmail, Eric Schmidt challenged his team to get 100 happy users inside of Google before launching the product to the public. The team approached 100 users inside of Google and asked what they could do to make them happy. The team fine tuned the product until they made 100 Google employees really happy. The feedback loop with Google employees guided the product development team to delivering insanely great product and helped the team prioritize which features were most important.

While Google focused on making 100 users happy, some great companies focus on addressing the pain points of one single customer to make an insanely great product. The company in this situation becomes the consultant to its customer—building a seemingly customized solution for a client. In such a scenario, the product development team focuses on the customer’s needs by bringing the customer into product planning cycles. Doing so truly prioritizes the customer’s most pressing needs during a sprint cycle.

The consultant approach seems backwards considering that most startups are building products for more than one customer, but remember startup productivity is not about cranking out more widgets or features; it’s about aligning product development efforts with a user to create value for that user. By including the user into the product planning, the team knows that it is actually creating something that users really need.

The key of course is to bring in a customer who is representative of a much larger target audience. At Vonjour, we devoted our sprint cycles around the most urgent needs of less than a handful of high priority customers. In bringing these companies into our product planning strategy, we could discern overlaps in pain points in how they connected with their customers. We prioritized our product backlog on the most urgent needs. Most importantly though, engaging with these early customers allowed us to better understand the audience we were building our product for.

It’s important to note though, listening to users does not mean doing exactly what they request though. It’s up to founders to decode what users are requesting into the pain point that they are experiencing—the true message of user feedback is often buried on the surface of their requests.

It’s rarely the case that a startup becomes lured down a blind alley trying to make early users very happy. Sprint planning sessions offer a great opportunity to bring in a customer to collaborate on creating and fine tuning a product for a handful of customers that solves a real need.

This high level engagement is one of the advantages of still being small. Startups can provide an elevated level of attentiveness to a smaller group customers and make them insanely happy. The result is a product that actually adds value to customers and fuels the engine of growth for the business. It will be orders of magnitude easier to sell and market the product once a startup has built a product that users really need and could not do without.

Companies like Intercom.io and Vonjour offer tools to measure a company’s interactions with their customers. When customer support goes above and beyond expectations, brands can drive customer loyalty and enhance word of mouth virality. Like any other part of the startup experience, customer support involves many iterations. Support tools should include metrics on how responsive and effective organizations are able to provide happiness to their customers through these channels.

About Vonjour:

Vonjour is the uber intelligent business phone system and customer communications platform. Vonjour offers new channels for businesses to support customers, while providing businesses visual analytics to measure organizational effectiveness. Vonjour makes any organization faster, more responsive and more sophisticated in supporting its customers.

Ryan Koven, Vonjour, http://www.vonjour.com, +1 310-774-2023, [email protected]

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.