ScotlandIS member, Global UXR, offers insights into user engagement, and how important it is to connect with the perspective of the user and discover their needs in order to be successful.
Excited about a product idea, eager to start building, and confident that once it’s live, users will flock to it. Yet there’s often a curious disconnect in how we approach validation versus launch.
Many of us feel hesitant about speaking to a handful of potential users during development, but we’re perfectly comfortable launching to thousands of strangers and hoping they’ll engage – and pay.
This contradiction reveals something important about how we think about building products people actually need – and more importantly, how we can fix it.
Why we avoid user conversations (and why that’s costing us)
I regularly work with brilliant product teams who are struggling with engagement or retention issues. When we dig into the root causes, three main barriers to early user engagement emerge:
“I know what users want” – We’re deeply invested in our ideas. We’ve thought through the problems, researched the market, and feel confident in our solution. Speaking to users feels like an unnecessary step that might slow us down.
Fear of negative feedback – What if users don’t like our idea? What if they point out flaws we hadn’t considered? It’s easier to stay in the building phase where we still have hope than to risk hearing criticism.
Limited resources and know-how – “We don’t have time for lengthy research processes” or “We don’t know how to run proper user interviews” are common refrains, especially in resource-constrained environments.
The cost of this approach; these concerns are understandable, but they’re leading us towards a much costlier problem.
The digital illusion that’s holding us back
Building a digital product can feel like there’s a protective screen between us and our users. It’s comfortable to work behind this digital interface, but it creates a dangerous illusion of separation. We rely on metrics and dashboards, convincing ourselves that analytics tell the whole story.
It’s like a chef who’s too worried about interrupting diners to ask about allergies – their consideration could create a medical emergency. By avoiding brief conversations today, we risk delivering something that wastes users’ time tomorrow and ultimately drives them away permanently.
A different way to think about user needs
Here’s the reframe that transforms how we approach building: instead of asking “How can I get users to want my product?” ask “How can I genuinely serve my users’ needs?”
Think of the difference between a salesperson who listens to understand your situation versus one who’s clearly working from a script. We all know which experience we prefer and which one we’re more likely to engage with.
This isn’t just about being user-centric – it’s about being strategically smart. When we approach users with authentic curiosity about their challenges, we’re not just validating our ideas; we’re uncovering opportunities we never knew existed.
Strategic approaches to user engagement
The key is matching your research approach to your product stage and treating user engagement as an ongoing relationship, not a one-off validation exercise.
- Discovery phase: quality over quantity In the early stages, speaking to a handful of people – even just 5-8 potential users – can reveal profound insights. The goal isn’t statistical significance; it’s understanding needs, pain points, and the language users use to describe their problems. Focus on conversational interviews and observing how people currently solve the challenges you’re addressing.
- Growth phase: mixed-method validation Once you have initial traction, combine qualitative insights with quantitative validation. Use what you’ve learned from conversations to craft meaningful surveys that reach broader audiences. Run remote usability testing to see how real users interact with your product. A/B testing becomes more powerful when informed by qualitative understanding.
- Optimisation phase: continuous feedback loops Establish regular touchpoints with engaged users. Create advisory groups, run focused testing sessions on specific features, and maintain channels for ongoing feedback. Users who’ve stayed are often your best collaborators for identifying what’s working and what could be better.
The courage to connect
Building something people actually need requires moving beyond dashboard-driven decisions and connecting with the humans we’re trying to serve. It’s not always comfortable, but it’s usually enlightening.
When we make this shift, the relationship changes completely – users transform from metrics into collaborators in creating something meaningful together. Isolation isn’t sustainable – connection is.
For more, visit www.globaluxr.com.