To be the best at serving customers and solving their problems, companies need to truly understand their users.

In order to do that, we hosted Driver Appreciation Day at our Nashville office. We asked fleet managers to nominate their best drivers to attend. Through various workshops, attendees had the opportunity to provide feedback on our existing products and shape future products by engaging directly with the team who designs, builds, and supports them.

So, how can a team of Silicon Valley techies create a product for truck drivers?

We dedicate time and energy to meet our customers face to face. Instead of assuming we know their frustrations or desires by reading a blog post or following the competition, we invited them to our office to meet them in person and test our products.

Below is a recap of Motive’s Driver Appreciation Day, held on Aug. 2, 2019. The event featured various “workshops” with Motive product managers and designers. The workshops provided an opportunity to interact and have candid discussions about what drivers found useful.

What do drivers want?

A best-in-class product that simplifies their job. We can achieve this by inviting customers to speak frankly about it. With a casual discussion and a whiteboarding exercise, this session allowed us to evaluate what our customers liked or disliked, and to discuss new features that could improve their day-to-day workflow.

How is our product used?

Hundreds of thousands of drivers use our app every day to do their jobs more efficiently. It’s up to us to provide them with an intuitive experience so they can focus on driving. In this workshop, we ran through our user journey map to get a better understanding of how, when, and why they use our mobile app.

What’s coming down Motive’s pipeline?

In this show-and-tell session, we gave drivers a glimpse of future products and features that are tailored to meet the needs of drivers. Our customers shared their feedback and concerns with the team. Receiving honest feedback was crucial for the product team to make adjustments and plan ahead.

We love our drivers

Now for the fun part! After wrapping up the workshops, we hosted a happy hour with fantastic food and beverages.

It’s always insightful to hear their personal stories while on the road, like how a team drove 1500 miles in 24 hours or having your trailer full of candy stolen. When the event came to a close, we thanked everyone with a gift bag filled with goodies, snacks, and a gift card.

“Thank you and your team for taking the time to hear and learn from us. This was another of the many reasons that I picked Motive.”

We genuinely believe that by building a deep understanding and empathy for our customers, we’ll have the strategic advantage within the market. Hosting these kinds of events allows us to build great relationships with who we serve, while gaining insight on how they use our technology. Be on the lookout for our next event!