Product Validation
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Start with customer discovery:
- Validate the problem is something the customer knows and cares about
- Discover how they talk about the problem in their own language
- Identify the current ad-hoc ways they solve the problem
- Business model validation and price discovery
Each stage progresses somewhat linearly, or in a looping fashion as the customers help develop the idea.
We use the the Mom Test as a guidebook for what kind of non-leading questions to ask customers so as not to bias them.
All interviews are conducted in a way that aims to invalidate our risky assumptions quickly.
Validating the problem exists
We ask questions like:
- Tell us about the last time you had a big problem at work.
- What are the things about your work that frustrate you the most?
Which gets people telling stories about the actual day-to-day problems they might face.
If they’re a good customer for our idea then they should be listing the problem we solve as one of their biggest pain points. If not we should re-evaluate that customer type, or even the feasibility of the product idea.
How would they pitch it?
Getting the customer to speak about the problems in their own language allows us to create a common language when writing marketing copy.
How do they solve it today?
Any problem worth solving is usually being done in some ad-hoc way already.
Mapping out their day-to-day or even shadowing them at work can give us a good understanding of how our solution can fit.
How much will they pay?
Once we know it’s a problem they need to find common ground with our solution.
Pitching them or showing a prototype and then asking for a commitment to pay is the most sure-fire way of discovering the market opportunity.
If they’re uncomfortable paying a reasonable price for the product, then it’s best to find this out now rather than later.
At this stage even good ideas need to be carefully considered before committing time and energy into a full product.