A simple way to validate your startup idea
justinjackson.ca
justinjackson.ca
> If you want to do something that's going to change the world, build software that people want to use instead of software that managers want to buy.
Personally, I only build things that I want myself. Being my own Customer Zero is really fun & rewarding, and even if the product doesn't sell, it wasn't a complete waste, because at least I got the product I wanted.
Of course, care must be taken that using one's self as a reference customer is not being too myopic. But I suppose that's where the advice in the article could still be useful--that is, in vetting the idea.
Just a thought.
But I also believe that solving personal problem is a good place to start. After all, if one person has a problem, it is likely that there are at least 5 other person who shares the pain.
>> MEET LAURA <<
Before you tailor content to your customers and answer their needs with your expert voice, you must first understand who your prospective customers really are.
Most marketers will tell you to think in terms of demographics. Your customers are in such and such an age group, are of this gender, and earn within a given salary range. All that info may be useful to know, but it’s not the way to penetrate the minds of your customers.
To really feel empathy and understand what your customers want, what confuses them, and what inspires them, you need to get personal. You can’t put yourself into the shoes of a whole demographic, but is possible to imagine one typical prospective customer and get to know that person better.
Let’s say that your company sells educational iPad applications that are designed for young children. Who is your prospective customer? Well, let’s see. She is a mom; let’s call her Laura. How old is she? Let’s say 33. OK, how many children does Laura have? Probably two. What ages? Hmm, a three-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. What’s her profession? She used to be an accountant, but now she does bookkeeping for small businesses from home so that she can spend more time raising her kids.
You get the idea. You can use this thought process to create a detailed profile of a possible customer and ask yourself questions in your head to get to know your target users better. Now assume that Laura doesn’t know about your iPad applications and you want to reach her through your blog.
Will Laura find you when researching Objective-C vs. JavaScript-based mobile apps? Well, based on Laura’s profession, that’s very unlikely. What does Laura, a concerned parent who wants the best for her children, care about? What worries Laura? What is Laura’s main objective? What’s her problem in relation to the solution that you have to offer?
It’s easier now to understand your customer because you can imagine how this person would react to what you write. You can also better assess what kind of questions your customer has and answer them. If you are an iPad developer, you may take many of your customers’ questions for granted.
What is obvious to you may not be to Laura. When you think about Laura, you can come up with all sort of questions that your posts should answer:
• Are iPads safe for young children to use?
• Is the iPad a good educational tool for children ages three to six?
• Can you use a pen to write on the iPad screen?
• What are some clever ways to use mobile devices to encourage children to learn?
• Are there fun iPad games aimed at young children?
• Is an iPad or an Android tablet better for educational purposes?
• Should parents buy their children an iPad?
• What can children learn through the iPad?
• What are the best iPad apps for young kids to use?
• Should children spend their time on the iPad?
• How do I teach mathematics to preschool kids?
• What software can teach young children how to read?
• Is software beneficial for the development of your child’s brain?
• How can you assess and improve your child’s IQ?
• How can you prepare your children for elementary school?
• How can parents and children use the iPad together to learn and bond?
• What’s the difference between the iPad Wi-Fi and the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G?
These are just a few random examples of questions your posts could answer. Notice that some of these questions aren’t even iPad specific. Laura is interested in her kids’ education first and the iPad is just a tool that can help her with that goal. Talk about the iPad by all means, but focus on what the customer really wants to know.
Though this exercise may appear silly, you really need to connect with your customers at this depth in order to help them find your blog and, in turn, your products. Put yourself into their shoes, and if you have access to early customers, listen to what they tell you so as to better gauge what you can do to address their questions.
You can also propose new ideas and use your personas to help understand how each person would react to them. How many of your cust personas would use your new proposed feature? Is there a persona that would actually dislike your change? How do would you address their concerns?
Equally important is to build out the personas that are not your customers. They may have a lower price, higher support/acq costs, or features you can't/won't build. Some customers can be active detractors, distract you from your real customers, and may never be completely pleased with what you do. ID these customers fast, find a way to deal with them (even suggest a competitor), and move on.