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CH03 User / Buyer / Payer / Problem Analysis

Answer in the Worksheet Writer and save as Markdown

Source: Chapter 3 (Defining the Customer, the Buyer, and the Problem) / KM018-KM026 This worksheet turns only the questions and judgment criteria that actually appear in KM018–KM026 into fill-in-the-blank form. It does not add any new methodology.

1. Customer Definition = Market Boundary (KM018)

  • If you define what we currently call the “customer” in one sentence, what is it?
  • Does this customer definition still sit at a broad noun like “women in their 20s and 30s” or “the mass market,” or has it been narrowed down — having passed through the external environment and internal Capability — to the actual target you will pursue?
  • If we sell our product directly to individuals versus supplying it to companies, how does the market boundary (the definition of the buyer) differ in each case?

2. Distinguishing User / Buyer / Payer (KM019)

Answer each of the three questions below. If it’s the same person, write “same”; if different, write each one separately.

RoleWho is it
Who experiences the problem (User)
Who decides the purchase (Buyer)
Who pays the cost (Payer)

3. Checking the B2C / B2B / B2G Purchasing Structure (KM020)

  • Which of the following does this transaction fall under? (mark the applicable item)

    [ ] B2C [ ] B2B [ ] B2G

  • If B2C: What individual inconvenience or desire translates directly into purchase behavior?

  • If B2B: Is this purchase tied to the counterpart company’s cost savings, revenue growth, productivity, quality, delivery, or operational risk? Are the User and the purchasing decision-maker separated?
  • If B2G: What budget line item, statute, or procurement method constrains this purchase? Besides the field using department, what organization decides the budget and the purchase?

4. Customer Segmentation and Targeting (KM021)

Check the current candidate segment against the criteria below.

CriterionMet (Y/N) and basis
Is it measurable (can you count the scale)?
Is it accessible?
Is there sufficient scale?
Is it reachable with our internal Capability and feasibility?
  • Considering price, channel, available resources (Quality, Delivery), and input cost, is this segment still valid, or does it need to be narrowed further?

5. Redefining the Market by Problem (KM022)

  • Rather than external criteria like gender, age, region, or industry, how can we re-organize our customer group based on whether they share the same problem?

6. Existence and Severity of the Problem (KM023)

  • Describe the ideal state the customer wants — that is, the state in which the problem is solved or the desire is fulfilled.
  • What is the current reality?
  • How often does this problem occur?
  • What alternative is the customer currently relying on to get by?
  • What is the customer losing (time, money, revenue, safety, convenience, etc.) because of this problem?
  • Overall, is this a level the customer can tolerate, or is it severe enough that they will pay to solve it?

7. Translating the Problem into Attributes (KM024)

  • Write down the customer’s expression as heard in the field (field language), as is.
  • Translated into the market’s comparable, purchasable language (attribute keywords), what does it become?

Caution: Do not jump straight to a solution or product idea at this stage. An attribute is the language that organizes the problem, not the solution.

8. Key Buying Factor / KBF (KM025)

  • What factor drives the purchase in this segment? (mark the applicable item(s) or write in)

    [ ] Price [ ] Speed [ ] Quality [ ] Freshness [ ] Atmosphere [ ] Process efficiency [ ] Other: ______

  • Customers with the same problem still become a different segment if their KBF differs. Within our candidate customer group, is there a subgroup with a different KBF?

9. Customer Touchpoint (KM026)

  • Where, and how, can you actually reach this customer/buyer?
  • (If B2B/B2G) Is the purchasing manager or ordering department — not the User — the key touchpoint? Who is that touchpoint?
  • Are there parts of the customer touchpoint that remain unclear? If so, what do you still need to confirm?

Final Summary

  • Target customer, defined in one sentence:
  • Shared problem:
  • Basis for the problem’s severity:
  • Key Buying Factor (KBF):
  • Payer:
  • Actually reachable customer touchpoint: