CX Strategic Knowledge · CX Misconceptions
The litmus test: "what would you choose for yourself?"
One filter catches most bad CX decisions: would you voluntarily choose this for yourself?
The litmus test for customer-centric decisions is whether customers would voluntarily choose the thing for themselves. If not, it is suspect by default. Applying the test honestly requires real customer intelligence; without it, the answer is projection.
Some things zero customers would ever choose: popups that interrupt tasks, terms that allow their data to be sold, products designed to addict, forced upgrade pressure during normal use, chatbots and overlays that block task completion. Yet all of them ship, constantly.
The rule: if customers wouldn't voluntarily choose it for themselves, it is suspect by default. Use it as a decision filter on feature approvals, monetization tactics, growth experiments, and practices that are legal but harmful.
The test only works with real customer intelligence behind it: deep qualitative research and granular understanding of tasks, sub-journeys, context, and constraints. Without that, 'what would they choose?' becomes projection, and the filter approves whatever you already wanted to build.
Apply this
Reading about the litmus test: "what would you choose for yourself?" is one thing. Seeing where it applies in your journey is the useful part.