Last week, we had an insightful conversation with David Robinson, Head of Product Design at Hydrow, a leading connected fitness company. David's unique background spanning Silicon Valley startups to major tech companies offers valuable insights into product design and customer-centric innovation. Here's what we learned:
Last week, we had an insightful conversation with David Robinson, Head of Product Design at Hydrow, a leading connected fitness company. David's unique background spanning Silicon Valley startups to major tech companies offers valuable insights into product design and customer-centric innovation. Here's what we learned:
"Back in the Internet 1.0 days, my brother, a friend, and I did the stereotypical Silicon Valley startup thing. We rented a house in Palo Alto, set up in the garage, got a company dog, and drove up and down Sand Hill Road. We got 199 nos and one yes, and then we were off to the races. We ended up selling to Kmart, which was trying to compete with Amazon through bluelight.com. We went from just us in the garage to 500 people in two offices.
After that, I worked at Netscape, which was bought by AOL, and then I was recruited to Yahoo. There, I learned more fundamentals about product design, like A/B testing and unit testing. I left and did some startups, then went back for a while.
During the pandemic, I was ad-targeted a Hydrow rowing machine on Instagram. I was curious about the company and found out they were a startup based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I connected with the CEO and CPO through LinkedIn, had a 3-hour conversation, and at the end, they asked me join them."
"When I first got here, Hydrow was in true startup mode, using different agencies for brand work, engagement work, and acquisition. I was hired to build an internal team for software product design. After a while, the CEO asked me to bring all the design work in-house to create a more cohesive brand experience .
We ran it that way for almost three years, and this year we've decided to hire strategic thought leadership for the brand design while I focus on running the product design team. We're responsible for all the software that goes on the machines and your phones. We're in the middle of doing a big rethink because we're introducing a new strength-based product into the hydrow ecosystem in the not-too-distant future."
"We use multiple data points to get information we can act on. We do a lot of user testing, using third-party tools because we don't have an internal user testing group. We also have a very active and passionate community that gives us feedback all the time. We have a feedback loop that goes directly into Slack.
We have an internal data team, and we use tools like Domo to gain insights into how people are using the machines, who's purchasing them, and what those demographics look like. For example, we found that our customer base is almost exactly split 50/50 male/female, wich enables us to create software that meets the needs of our current and future members.
"It depends on what it is. We've had some interesting advice from BJ Fogg, author of 'Tiny Habits' and a passionate Hydrow user. He suggested doing something low cost and fast, like sending postcards to passionate users with a QR code to fill out a survey. It's a great analog way to get insights that I never would have thought of before.
If a feature is cheap and easy to build and doesn't have any downward pressure on the business or the product, we might just build it and see what happens. Other times, we make prototypes in Figma and put them through usertesting.com.
We had an idea for a group rowing experience initiated through your phone. We simplified it to an asynchronous row that you could invite people to, bound by a specific date. It was easy to implement from a software perspective, so we just threw it in there. Turns out, not many people use it , but it's there, and was very inexpensive to build."
"The fact that I ran all the other design teams at Hydrow until recently gave me a lot of insight into how they work together. When we have new feature sets or workout collections that need to be created and evangelised , I go to our engagement team. They're the people that talk to our users every single day.
We also have large groups on Facebook and other platforms , and if you spend time there can teach you a lot about what people are saying and how they feel about what’s happening. When we launch a feature, we’re quick to understand the reaction on the community and respond if needed..
I think designers sometimes aren't great at communicating beyond their work. They might think, 'Let's let the work speak for itself.' But you can't do that. You have to speak about what the work does, the benefit of the work, and why we're making it. That's something I've learned is crucial, especially from my startup days."
Our conversation with David highlighted several key principles for effective product design and customer-centric innovation:
1. Use multiple data sources
Combine user testing, direct customer feedback, and data analytics to get a comprehensive view of user needs and behaviors.
2. Be willing to experiment
Sometimes, the best way to test an idea is to implement it quickly and see how users respond.
3. Look for low-cost, high-impact ways to gather feedback
Creative methods like sending postcards can yield valuable insights without breaking the bank.
4. Consider the full customer journey
Think beyond just the UI to the overall experience, including factors like workout duration and type.
5. Collaborate across teams
Work closely with engagement and marketing teams to ensure new features are effectively communicated to users.
6. Communicate the value of your work
Don't just let the design speak for itself - actively explain the benefits and reasoning behind your decisions.
By applying these principles, companies can create more effective, user-centric products that truly meet customer needs. As David's journey shows, combining startup agility with enterprise-level experience can lead to innovative approaches in product design and customer engagement.