Steve Jobs once said, “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them. That’s why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.” At Argyle, we have taken a different approach in a key area that has shown success.
Inventions have a way of moving the future-forward. But the invention itself might be the 1% problem — everyone can copy an idea. A product stays relevant because it is rigorously fine-tuned by client feedback and guidance. That’s why firms collect massive amounts of data from their consumers, gather feedback, and continuously monitor how their own products are used. All in the service of reading what is clearly on the page.
In the short run at Argyle, we are in a race for 100% coverage of the 7.8M entities that pay people. Not only do we need our clients to tell us what pockets of coverage matter but also their knowledge in this area is critical in winning this race. That’s why we have our clients act as the Argyle’s market research arm and inform us of what segments of the Argyle Data Network they would like to see built out next. A multiplier – we overlay the composite of all our client requests to come up with the highest value product development roadmap.
Starting at A and going to Z, going from the largest employers to the smallest ones, or picking the “biggest” payroll providers and ending with the “least”, all take a reductive view of our roadmap. Here at Argyle, we go where our client’s customers demand us. We have implemented this approach inside of Argyle Link itself. When a customer searches for their employer and does not find it, Argyle provides a flow for the customer to provide the missing employer. It is another way our clients drive our product development.
It might come down to ego. The Chief Product Officer feels better when they determine the roadmap and make the development decisions. At Argyle we are taking a different path. We don’t assume we know the future. Instead, we ask our clients to tell us what they want the future to be, and then we create it.
If you are interested in influencing and improving our roadmap, come join us at Argyle. We would be glad to build with you based on your research and technical knowledge.
