Loading...
Answers
MenuHow do we pick which customer segment to pursue after finalizing 10 interviews in each of 4 segments?
We are working with a health accelerator now and we are doing customer discovery interviews this week and next, employer/payer/retail/health system, how do we decide which is the best market segment to pursue?
Answers
I think what Frank says is absolutely spot-on with one exception. In healthcare, you might not have as much choice as you think. Ultimately, if you are dependent on adoption of your solution by multiple stakeholders, you should engage early and equally with all stakeholders so as to understand the eventual objections you'll have to overcome and hopefully acquire some early evangelists but focus on where there is least resistance to try and build a forcing function that reduces resistance to the change you're trying to make.
I built an online service in the late 90s that was sold to employers and adopted by individual employees. The Company was subsequently acquired so happy to talk to share that experience with you in a call.
In my Customer Factory Marketing Model I have a technique I call creating your Prime Client Profile. Your most profitable target markets will be those who: 1) Have a need most directly in alignment with your solution; 2) You can most readily communicate with; 3) Most clearly see and/or are looking for your unique offering; 3) Are the most ready, willing and able to pay; 4) Are actively looking for a new or alternative cure for their pain.
I hope these general guiding principals are of some help. Without more information regarding your business or offering I can't be much more specific. Good luck!
Frank
In The Lean Entrepreneur I discuss how to create a segment matrix: put your different segments in rows (hopefully these are NARROWLY defined!); in columns, come up with salient criteria to measure segment worthiness. It's ultimately up to you, but might include "Depth of Need", Budget, "Ease of Reach" (marketing), etc. Could even include things like "Matches Values." Be sure to write in such a way that a High-Medium-Low ranking is consistent across criteria. In other words a High Depth of Need is a good thing, so other high scores must be a "good" indicator. Rank each segment in the criteria High, Medium, or Low. It's OK to guess at this point, but your customer discovery should attempt to validate the values. It's likely that 1 or 2 segments will rise to the top.
I have over 17 years experience working in and owning several businesses in the medical / healthcare field. As well I do / have done consulting with hundreds of other healthcare businesses.
I would be happy to share my insights with you. Your question would require more clarification (for me) and as such I would certainly be willing to offer a free initial call to gain this clarity and see if I can be of assistance.
Shoot me a message if you are interested in talking and I'll set up a code for that free initial call.
In any case...Best of luck!
Related Questions
-
How should I structure a customer meeting when doing customer development?
Steve Blank has already covered this in depth in his book 4 Steps to the Epiphany, as well as a video here: http://startupweekend.wistia.com/medias/tao3s8hf7l My approach is based on his outline, with a twist. 1) I try and conduct the interviews at the customers office or place of work, at minimum on their devide (computer, mobile phone) so I can ask to see how they work. 2) I never try and sell them on a the solution, but work hard to truly understand if/where the problem is. 3) Always provide guidance to the conversation, but ask open ended questions. 4) Ask questions like "What do you do 3 minutes before, and after, you do that action (or use our product)? Other tips would be - Write down the words they use. Metaphors and taxonomies are VERY important to ensuring your product is approachable. - Use 3 simple slides: Problem, Current Solutions, Proposed Solution Hope that helps.DM
-
What are ways to find and engage B2B beta users for a brand new application?
Find apps that are B2B and go to the review sections. Specifically going to Google's play or Chrome store and look at reviews and follow them to Google+ to engage. I took that same angle for B2C app I was building last year. Check it out. http://blendah.com/post/37331434653/lean-startup-hackTM
-
I am hiring an employee and need to prevent them from accessing my clients email address. Is there software that can do this?
That is an interesting situation and I am sure many others share a similar concern. I would recommend trying out Podio (free), it lets you create all sorts of templates to capture and work with information (text fields, categories, dates, etc). You can set it to receive e-mail for you and it will automatically insert the appropriate information into the fields (including attachments). You can decide if your staff only sees the name of the student and the attachment if you wish. You can also create a workflow that informs you when your staff members finish the corrections and are ready to be sent back. You can even use it to keep track of all pending essays, their progress and due dates so you are always on time. Let me know if you have any questions!AJ
-
How do you perform solid customer development and validate an idea whilst operating in stealth?
You should be so lucky that someone will steal your idea. The truth is that its all about execution and not ideas. Facebook wasn't the first social network, they just executed better. Same for Instagram, Yammer and Airbnb - all Billion dollar companies built in public.DM
-
What are some good hacks to get mobile app developers spend 20 minutes on customer interview or try out your MVP?
Find them locally, and buy them a beer.JM
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.