AMA: Hims Former Sr. Director of Product Marketing, Alex Chahin on Market Research

To answer this question, first ask yourself a number of questions: Business importance: Is this a smaller feature, or is it a big bet and large revenue driver? Risk: Even if it's not a large revenue driver, there may be a substantial reputational risk to getting it wrong. Is this one of those situations? Timing: When does this need to hit market? Can you convince management and stakeholders to wait for research, or do you need to act now? (Side note: Many projects will feel urgent, but it's rare ...Read More

A quick thought experiment: Imagine you're launching a new product, and you only have the time and budget to run a quick quantitative round with your customers. Would you do it? In my experience, the product marketers I've worked with would jump at the opportunity. I say this to point out that just because data is limited, it doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. For instance, maybe limited means it was only one study, but you had strong sample size and statistically significant differences in answ ...Read More

In all of the places I've worked, I've had the good fortune of having talented Consumer Insights and User Reasearch partners. With that in mind, I tend to focus less on having a prescriptive take on specific methodology knowhow, but I do expect folks to have a strong ability to be thought partners with their research counterparts. In my experience, that often includes a few things: Have an understanding of what data will be convincing to stakeholders across the business Have an understanding of ...Read More

If you have the ability to use both, it tends to help paint a richer picture. That said, a good rule of thumb is that behavioral data can help you understand what people are doing, and market research can help you understand why they're doing it. Let's imagine you lead product marketing for a subscription food delivery product (like a DoorDash's Dash Pass or Postmates Unlimited) and are seeing cancellations increase. That's a big behavioral data-based insight. Now, you might be able to use behav ...Read More

Starting a new project can certainly feel daunting, especially when you don't feel you have the right tools or budget. But there's good news: When you have to be scrappy, there's data all around you. Step 1: Wrap your head around the problem as best as you can Whether it's bringing a new product or feature to market or developing a new marketing campaign, I like to start with an unbiased hunt for existing information because it may trigger ideas you wouldn't have if you defined scope too early. ...Read More

We've all been there. First, you think through a problem and what you need to research. You dig in with your Insights team partner on the objectives and questionnaire. You get raw data back and sythesize. You pull together a thoughtful report with recommendations. You're excited to share it out with the team. Then you hear the doubt: "How was that question asked?" "How many people were asked?" "Are we sure we can believe that?" "Oh, yeah, I think that must be skewed." The thing I'd encourage you ...Read More

Like many things, this can vary depending on your company. In some places, all research is unified under one leader, in one department. Other places, consumer insights may sit in one department (like Marketing) and UX research may sit in another (like Design or Product). With that in mind, there's definitely a venn diagram in terms of what these buckets cover. UXR often seeks to answer questions about how to best design an experience or interface for customers, but to best do so, it may be most ...Read More