Has anyone done market research for their startup?
12 comments
The cheapest, fastest product ever built is the one never made.
Good market research will help you identify the customer you're aiming to help and their specific problem. In addition to "academic" market research, consider doing "field work" where you talk to, interview and "shadow" actual potential users. All this work will definitely make for a better product that if you just start coding.
Good market research will help you identify the customer you're aiming to help and their specific problem. In addition to "academic" market research, consider doing "field work" where you talk to, interview and "shadow" actual potential users. All this work will definitely make for a better product that if you just start coding.
"... Has anyone else struggled with this balance of work when building their prototype and business plan? ... The cheapest, fastest product ever built is the one never made ..."
At the same time over-analysis could stop you building a product at all. Would a bit of research, then release a version quickly getting feedback from users work?
At the same time over-analysis could stop you building a product at all. Would a bit of research, then release a version quickly getting feedback from users work?
I think your approach would be the optimum balance. Build something rather quickly that fits your problem domain. You don't have to build something perfect, just something that is usable and is relevant to the problem your attacking (use common sense).
Release something to your target audience and see what they think of it. Then you can iterate from there mixing in your academic market research and your real life market research.
Oh before I forget, build something that you yourself will definitely use. And don't forget to have fun in the process!
Release something to your target audience and see what they think of it. Then you can iterate from there mixing in your academic market research and your real life market research.
Oh before I forget, build something that you yourself will definitely use. And don't forget to have fun in the process!
I usually find it very helpful, but at the same time I'm not a developer, so I can afford to spend the time really thinking about my ideas. For me, market research usually identifies opportunities I have missed and obstacles I should take into account. And it helps adjust expectations. A lot of people you'd think would say yes end up saying no.
I think many people miss the fact that a lot of this "business stuff" was done in the past because it normally took a lot more capital to start a business before the internet. You really had to think through your ideas before you put thousands of dollars on the line. Now all you need to take care of is a domain name and $100/month in hosting fees. It just doesn't pay to spend so much time when the risk is so low.
So ask yourself, would a prototype cost you anything? Can you start getting feedback and sign up potential customers with just a site and no huge cash outlay? If you can, then do it. If you need money to really get the business off the ground, then do your research, because its important, and likely required for investment.
I think many people miss the fact that a lot of this "business stuff" was done in the past because it normally took a lot more capital to start a business before the internet. You really had to think through your ideas before you put thousands of dollars on the line. Now all you need to take care of is a domain name and $100/month in hosting fees. It just doesn't pay to spend so much time when the risk is so low.
So ask yourself, would a prototype cost you anything? Can you start getting feedback and sign up potential customers with just a site and no huge cash outlay? If you can, then do it. If you need money to really get the business off the ground, then do your research, because its important, and likely required for investment.
When a couple of months work can be saved by doing a few phone calls or some "fake selling", prototypes are by far the worst way of doing things. Understanding whether your customers will pay is critical for business success, and can often be done a priori
I don't know if I'll be downvoted for this, but - no. When I design, I build it for one person and one person alone - myself. I add the features that I want to have access to. I make the layout one that I find attractive and usable. I consider myself to be my product's first user. While I can see market research helping out a lot, I've always felt that the smartest thing to do is to make it for yourself and take feedback only after you're entirely satisfied with it.
It's a process that I think helps a lot if you're working with a really original concept. The user doesn't always know best. If you're doing it right, chances are you know exactly what you want, and that is something that you ought to follow first and foremost.
When I first conceptualized my site, I took the idea and told writers (the target audience) all about it. Most of the time, they couldn't visualize it whatsoever. When I asked them what DIDN'T work in sites today, they would say either that they had no clue, that there WAS no good solution, or that things were satisfactory as they were.
Last month, I demoed the concept HTML page to those same people for the first time, and you could absolutely feel the minds shifting. People abruptly understood the concept behind the page. The design of the page worked perfectly for them as it had been originally conceived.
I understand doing market research if you're going out and just stumbling upon an idea, looking for something that will work. But if you've got an idea, something that's never been done, then you take it and you push it and you wait until after it's done to see how people react to it. The result is a much more honest and effective site that way.
I'm sure other people disagree with me, so feel free to debate this point back at me.
It's a process that I think helps a lot if you're working with a really original concept. The user doesn't always know best. If you're doing it right, chances are you know exactly what you want, and that is something that you ought to follow first and foremost.
When I first conceptualized my site, I took the idea and told writers (the target audience) all about it. Most of the time, they couldn't visualize it whatsoever. When I asked them what DIDN'T work in sites today, they would say either that they had no clue, that there WAS no good solution, or that things were satisfactory as they were.
Last month, I demoed the concept HTML page to those same people for the first time, and you could absolutely feel the minds shifting. People abruptly understood the concept behind the page. The design of the page worked perfectly for them as it had been originally conceived.
I understand doing market research if you're going out and just stumbling upon an idea, looking for something that will work. But if you've got an idea, something that's never been done, then you take it and you push it and you wait until after it's done to see how people react to it. The result is a much more honest and effective site that way.
I'm sure other people disagree with me, so feel free to debate this point back at me.
I don't think that's a bad way of going about it, just that it might not always be applicable. Some people go into business because they like business and see an opportunity, even though they may never use the product themselves. So they can't design it for themselves, because they wouldn't use it, and wouldn't know how it is used, or the best way to use it (such as a medical device company or something along those lines). So someone who has a great idea but is not a likely customer will have a lot to gain by going out and asking what real customers want and expect and what they would pay.
Okay! That actually makes a lot of sense; I'd never thought of it that way. Thanks for the response!
Yes ofcourse! The struggle is ongoing; especially when you have a team of software developers. We do continuous market research by regular interviews/polls, keeping up with news in the interest area, talking to people (or forums) dedicated to your target area and finally looking at current companies in the focus area. We have one engineer give 30-40% time on market research and other's keep tab on specific focus areas.
Keep coding on the side, work on the re-usable components (in case you change the focus area or the main value add). Example, infrastructure (databases, user management etc), maybe getting your garage ready for primetime. Even if you discover the idea you have would not work in the market next idea can have a quick ride on this infrastructure.
And finally, experimenting is the best way to find out. If you are thinking revolutionary then any type of market research will not be conclusive. If the idea is evolutionary then you have lots to gain from existing market research (get membership of some marketing companies) and you own!
Best of Luck ~M
Keep coding on the side, work on the re-usable components (in case you change the focus area or the main value add). Example, infrastructure (databases, user management etc), maybe getting your garage ready for primetime. Even if you discover the idea you have would not work in the market next idea can have a quick ride on this infrastructure.
And finally, experimenting is the best way to find out. If you are thinking revolutionary then any type of market research will not be conclusive. If the idea is evolutionary then you have lots to gain from existing market research (get membership of some marketing companies) and you own!
Best of Luck ~M
Tons and tons of market research. We have folders of interviews with potential members of the target market, and lots of other documents about market size and competitors.
To address your latter point, I'm a developer myself an I'm working with two other guys. One is non-technical and the other is technical but more geared toward the CEO role. Frankly, I'm very passionate about the whole project, but especially the technology and seeing it work. It's nice that I can offload a lot of the market research to these two other guys and focus on coding, although I do spend a lot of time brainstorming with them also.
To address your latter point, I'm a developer myself an I'm working with two other guys. One is non-technical and the other is technical but more geared toward the CEO role. Frankly, I'm very passionate about the whole project, but especially the technology and seeing it work. It's nice that I can offload a lot of the market research to these two other guys and focus on coding, although I do spend a lot of time brainstorming with them also.
I think it's crucial for a startup to have at least one person dedicated exclusively to marketing-unless you're exceptional, only having developers won't cut it.
Despite the fact that we're "Web 2.0"/new economy, you still face the same marketing challenges, and you absolutely must worry about market segmentation, sensitivity analysis, market channels, usability testing, etc etc.
It seems that only in the startup space we're so divorced from the realities of marketing a product or service because our vision is clouded by mirages of exponential viral growth.
If someone at Kraft or Chevrolet or Microsoft asked "Should we do market research?" they would be laughed at- of COURSE you should do market research, and yet many startups stuck in the false if-you-build-it-they-will-come mentality seem to think they could get by without even the most basic market analysis.
Despite the fact that we're "Web 2.0"/new economy, you still face the same marketing challenges, and you absolutely must worry about market segmentation, sensitivity analysis, market channels, usability testing, etc etc.
It seems that only in the startup space we're so divorced from the realities of marketing a product or service because our vision is clouded by mirages of exponential viral growth.
If someone at Kraft or Chevrolet or Microsoft asked "Should we do market research?" they would be laughed at- of COURSE you should do market research, and yet many startups stuck in the false if-you-build-it-they-will-come mentality seem to think they could get by without even the most basic market analysis.
not exactly what you asked for, but these proved helpful for me when I was doing market research for Skribit
http://www.va-interactive.com/inbusiness/editorial/sales/ibt... http://va-interactive.com/inbusiness/editorial/sales/ibt/tar... http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/a/marketresearch_...
http://www.va-interactive.com/inbusiness/editorial/sales/ibt... http://va-interactive.com/inbusiness/editorial/sales/ibt/tar... http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/a/marketresearch_...
mechanical turk is a great way to get feedback or have surveys taken quickly and very cheaply. mturk.com
Right now you can't afford to spend money and be wrong. Yet at the same time you need to make sure that whatever spend goes a long way. Use your money well, ask clear questions, and get real clear good human actionable toward ROI answers- and then don't stop there. Take that data, those customers, those people that want X out of your product and use them as part of your marketing and PR materials. It makes for a good story on the how and why you need to be around.
It's important to get some research done. I'm not on the same scale of your project but I noticed my "market" was in dire need of something stable and easy to use. There was already existing ones but they lacked true usefulness and caged most users in
Without looking around and seeing what options are out there and what really frustrates users (In my case, browsing forums for that info.) then I would have never known how to go about building my app.
Without looking around and seeing what options are out there and what really frustrates users (In my case, browsing forums for that info.) then I would have never known how to go about building my app.
I'm a developer and I too feel a certain intensity to just get coding. If you don't look and see what's out there in the way of your market, you might just be pissing in the wind. Research first, code later.
constantly -- and it's crazy making.
I'm actually finding the process really useful, but as a long time software developer a part of me is urging myself to stop the research and finish coding the prototype of my site. Has anyone else struggled with this balance of work when building their prototype and business plan?