Dec 10, 2021
YuChiang Cheng is the Chief Product Officer of Zwift, an online global fitness platform for cyclists, runners, and triathletes. YuChiang has spent his career trying to understand how to create meaningful online and hybrid connections, communities, and experiences for customers. At Zwift, responsible for all aspects of the Customer Journey, YuChiang explains how they try to discover and satisfy their different customer groups’ online and offline pain points, needs, and desires.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:46] YuChiang’s career was determined by his interests and relationships.
[03:19] YuChiang’s interest in people generated early exploration.
[03:55] How YuChiang dropped out of law school and joined the compliance department of a betting startup.
[05:15] Learning about customers’ experiences and bridging real and virtual.
[06:18] How to bring older, less tech-savvy people online.
[07:22] YuChiang helps (gambling) regulators understand technology and online operations.
[09:11] The upside to studying law and philosophy is that you learn to ask a lot of questions.
[09:25] “What are you afraid of?” and other questions to expose risk and reduce volatility.
[10:39] The process of identifying the opportunity that developed into World Golf Tour.
[12:11] What the co-founders discovered to be the customers’ core pain points.
[13:33] How YuChiang understands customers, what drives them, and prioritizes their needs.
[14:16] The two main gaps that World Golf Tour concept focused on—time and cost.
[16:44] How did YuChiang consciously build community into his company and user base?
[17:52] The ways they involved community members in shaping the experience.
[19:27] Top Golf and World Golf Tour were great complements, bridging physical and virtual.
[20:16] How Angry Birds fit into the golfing picture!
[21:45] What ways are best to connect or integrate real and virtual experiences and benefits?
[24:47] YuChiang describes Zwift’s unique offering and what customers learn.
[26:11] On Zwift, you have your own progression system.
[27:00] More companies are incorporating gamification with real life benefits.
[31:19] How YuChiang understands passionate community groups and creating tools to enhance their experiences, especially in the metaverse.
[33:26] YuChiang programs virtual experiences like TV content segments.
[35:36] What Zwift is working on to attract, deliver, and become essential for all potential customers.
[37:32] Want to know your customers better? It starts with curiosity and conversations.
[38:01] YuChiang has merged experience with products—all part of the Customer Journey.
[40:00] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: It’s a process and skill to create amazing customer experiences which starts with discovery and asking many questions. Once you have the data, don’t be afraid. Try things incrementally and test them with actual customers.
RESOURCES
YuChiang Cheng on LinkedIn
YuChiang Cheng on Twitter
Zwift on Twitter - @GoZwift
Zwift on Facebook - @gozwift
Zwift on Instagram - @gozwift
Zwift on YouTube - Zwift
Zwift on LinkedIn - Zwift
QUOTES
“My process is really not that unique. It's going to talk to the customer. It's going to understand and ask questions about, you know, "What do you like? What do you not like? What do you hope? How would you describe this?" It's asking these questions hundreds and hundreds of times.”
“Question I love to ask when trying to understand the consumer is, “What about the activity or the experience that you find the most delightful?” or “What is the thing that, if I took it away, the one thing that would cause you to quit?””
“At the end of the day, it's about having a constant curiosity about who your customers are, what do they really want, what are their behavior and motivations, and what are their pain points.”