The originator of the concept of the high-expectation customer is Julie Supan. She’s the branding expert in Silicon valley and the mind behind the positioning and core branding of Airbnb, Dropbox, Thumbtack, YouTube, etc. To know more, see this article.

Many crucial decisions need to be made while building a product. Starting from what problems to solve, which features to include, which ones to toss, look-and-feel of the product...it’s always a long list. It’s wise to make these decisions keeping someone in mind for whom you are building the product for. Wiser if everyone in the team is thinking of the same someone. A typical persona doesn’t help. Targeting millennials (or Gen X/Z) is too broad. Early adopters drift away. What truly helps in making informed product decisions is a demanding set of customers called the high-expectation customer, HXC for short.

The High-Expectation Customer (HXC) is a 3-in-1 customer who is a benefiter (Someone who is going to benefit the most from your product), a hacker (Someone who is using multiple hacks to solve the problem), and an expert (People aspire to emulate her).

Let’s unpack our 3-in-1 HXC and identify each of the these traits.

A benefiter

Although it’s exciting to think that almost everyone is a potential customer, it’s crucial to first rope in the people who will get the most out of your product. The HXC is someone who will benefit the most from your product, whether they realise this yet or not.