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Jon Ochenas

Integrated Customer Insights Report

Context

As part of maturing the product design practice at Live Oak Bank, I progressively developed our customer feedback tools and channels.

This began with remote usability testing and over time I added data from Marketing, Analytics and other channels for additional context.

The centerpiece of the report was the findings from customer site visits, a program I developed, proposed, and executed with the backing of my leadership.

Key Goals

Form a unified and consistent view of the customer to inform better decision making.

Keep the SLT informed about our efforts and opportunities to serve the customer.

Develop consistency in observation and output to avoid skewing interpretation and action by outsized voices and personalities.

Action

Building a plan and socializing with business partners to drive engagement and support.

Observation how-to

My boot camp for business partners and others traveling with me

Minimizing Disruption During Customer Observations

Before the observation

  • Request permission explicitly and explain the purpose of your observation

  • Set clear expectations about duration and what you’ll be observing

  • Dress appropriately to blend into the customer’s environment

  • Arrive early to set up discreetly before the customer begins their work

During the Observation

  • Position yourself strategically where you can see but aren’t in the way

  • Take notes quietly using methods that won’t distract (notebook vs. laptop)

  • Limit movement and noise that might break the customer’s concentration

  • Use the “fly on the wall” technique – observe without intervening unless absolutely

    necessary

  • Save questions for designated breaks rather than interrupting workow

  • Respect boundaries if the customer needs to handle condential matters

Questions: How to Get Insightful Answers and Avoid Bias

Formulating your questions

  • Ask open-ended questions that don’t lead to specific answers:

    Instead of: “Don’t you find this feature helpful?”

    Ask: “How do you feel about this feature?”

  • Use neutral language that doesn’t suggest a “right” answer

  • Avoid loaded terms that carry emotional weight

  • Start broad then narrow down to specfiics

Active Listening

  • Let customers complete their thoughts without interruption

    Reflect back what you heard to confirm understanding

  • Note exact quotes rather than paraphrasing in the moment

  • Pay attention to non-verbal cues that might contradict verbal responses

Capturing Insights

  • Document observations immediately before memory fades or becomes distorted

  • Separate observations from interpretations in your notes

  • Include context about the environment and circumstances

  • Note frequency of behaviors rather than emphasizing outliers

  • Look for patterns across multiple customers rather than generalizing from one

  • Challenge your assumptions by actively seeking evidence that contradicts your expectations

Remember: The goal is to understand the customer’s reality, not confirm your existing beliefs about their experience.

Synthesis

Travelers would submit their notes (either paper or digital; we created generic templates suitable for any kind of trip) to me for collection and storage.

Back at HQ, we’d gather to discuss what we heard and build a unified point of view expressed as “themes”. I facilitated these sessions, and served as scribe – I’d be adding in additional information so it made sense for me to be the keeper.

Trip reports were complemented by usability data, new NPS information, industry reporting, or any other relevant and timely information. This became the quarterly insights report.

Sample Report

Conclusion

Reception

The reports drew warm praise and generated good discussions with the audience. They helped me and my team establish an identity and add credibility to our work while presenting the customer in their own words. They kept leadership informed of our design direction and usability testing results (which were consistently good). It was the kind of presentation folks looked forward to.

Utility

It’s hard to know how this information shaped the SLT’s strategy or what kind of dollars and cents ROI we saw from the knowledge – perhaps with a few more iterations and the improving data science and quant work we were doing would get us there. In the meantime, all of us knew that staying closer to the customer in this sort of way is paramount to building long term customer relationships and business success.

Description

Developing the design team practice and working with partners to gather, analyze, and share quarterly insights reports to the SLT.

Role

  • Head of CX leading a team of 7
  • Propose and implement a quarterly report that centers on site visits to customers
  • Bridge to other data sources as inputs to the report

Business Goals

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