Customer Perspective Writing Exercise

A creative exercise used by naming agencies to deeply understand customer pain points and emotional drivers before developing brand names or positioning.

Core Process

• Write in first person from customer perspective
• Focus on raw emotional venting rather than business planning
• Get to the essence of problems and solutions through emotional narrative
• Write long-form paragraphs rather than just brainstorming names
• Cross out statements that don't feel authentically true

Example Structure (Dating App Case)

• Start with behavioral truths
  • "I don't download a dating app, I download ALL dating apps"
  • "It's embarrassing but I use them all and hate them all"
• Dig into emotional pain points
  • Frustration of sending messages with no replies
  • Feeling of hopelessness with each new message
  • Comparison to real-world rejection ("at least at a bar they reject you to your face")
• Surface hidden feelings
  • Anger ("these women are cowards")
  • Embarrassment
  • Hopelessness

Key Benefits

• Gets beyond surface-level business requirements
• Reveals deeper emotional truths about customers
• Helps inform authentic brand voice and positioning
• Creates foundation for naming that resonates emotionally
• Useful process for copywriters to capture essence

Cost Consideration

• Full naming agency engagement: ~$25k
• Consider hiring individual creative talent directly instead
• Value comes from process more than final deliverable