Augustin neglected to do what seems to be common sense to us in CS177 at this point — talk to the customers! He had an innovative vision based on good intentions and founded assumptions, but those assumptions weren’t tested. Even if this vision was based on the trends of actual young people, assumption testing is critical in seeing how these ideas may play out in context. That context includes everything from the nuances of generational culture that can never fully be quantified, the actual shopping behaviors and heuristics for Augustin’s target consumer-base, and the context of the one thing Augustin can never change — the history and reputation of the company he is trying to change. Augustin isn’t making a start-up, which means even the best changes and strategies can fail because of this introduced identity crisis, that confuses and draws away both existing and potential consumers. Simple user assumption testing could have given Augustin valuable information on how to transition towards the future he envisions — as well as saved him lots of time and money.
Being brought in as a consultant at this stage, the first move would be to follow the board’s advice while he still has their support — a minor reset buys him the time and revenue he needs to actually test his next few moves. Next, we should clarify Augustin’s vision beyond just a “revolution” in retail targeting young people — what specific market of young people is he targeting? What identity does he want to move towards, and is it an identity not currently serviced yet? What quantifies success in this shift — an increase in visits? an increase in time spent in-store? size of baskets when purchasing? We’re looking for something in between an OKR and a mission — something motivating enough to satisfy his want of a revolution, but not drastic enough to drive away the stability of the existing consumer base. From here, we can do extensive user testing — no field is trickier than the young market, especially these days. Young people are highly sensitive to corporate pandering (someone test this assumption), and so being incredibly strategic and consistent with messaging is crucial, which requires much user research.
