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MenuWhat's the best way to test customer demand before building a product or app?
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You're on the right track. I'm glad to see you getting the steps in the right order.
WHO are potential users of your product?
WHAT problem(s) will your app potentially be solving for them?
HOW much do these potential users value the solution of these problems?
Find your user group of people who would pay for a solution to a problem your app will solve. Get their input. I would do this through a couple stages...the first involving live talking, and the second usage of a basic version of the app once you and they have figured out what its purpose is.
Talk to people.
Talk about your idea, genuinely listen to their comments and feedback.
Once you've done that, build your MVP and always be testing. Always be gathering feedback.
I don't think the FB ads will work because there is nothing of value to the end user.
Happy to help more, book a call and we can discuss a strategy to get your app to market.
-Shaun
That is a great question and one that many, many people ponder about. "if I build it will they come?" I have built over 10 MVP's and did some basic testing to see if I could validate the service. My suggestion would be to put together just enough of an MVP or test site to get your point or value prop across. Then I would set a budget for ads or facebook or some targeted demographic marketing and test the feedback and the conversions. You can actually fake it till you make it. You do not have to always deliver on what you are building. I can speak more to this in a phone call if you want... - JJ
It depends on the specific context of what you're trying to build, but I'd say that one of the best ways to initially test if there's customer demand for your idea is to see if people are already trying to solve the problem you've identified through some other means. To give you an example:
Let's say you want to build an app that helps businesses pre-screen candidates for interviewing -- how do businesses solve the problem today? Well, the hiring manager / HR team might do their own research by calling people who know the candidate and asking for feedback. Or the business might hire a headhunting firm to do this for them.
If people are already be paying someone to solve this specific problem for them, it's a good indicator that your idea might be worth something (provided you can come up with a better solution).
However, even if people are not currently paying someone to get their problem solved (but the pain point still exists, and people are still coming up with solutions of their own) it might be worth evaluating to see if you can come up with a solution + a business model that might work.
I hope this is helpful and let me know if you'd like any additional feedback!
Surveys are a great way to test the demand for your product or app. They provide a wide range of tools and features for measuring responses, so you can really do as much or as little as you want with the results.
One option that doesn't require any design skills and also creates beautiful surveys is Fieldboom (http://www.fieldboom.com/), which can create online forms and surveys in less than five minutes.
You can analyze responses one-by-one and also tag them with labels, star them and mark them as read or unread (just like Gmail). You can also use the simple but powerful reports to understand trends in the feedback you’re receiving.
No matter what survey option you go with, be sure to try it out before moving forward: You want to find the one that works best for you.
Related Questions
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How do I run a closed beta test for my mobile application? Development will be finished in 3 weeks.
You should try to engage people using social networks, it is easier to spread than email. The conversion rate on emails are low but is still a valid tool for that. Send and email with a simple and objective message that will make people want to try. The best way to have feedback from users is to watch them use the app. You should put them on the hands of everybody that you can and without any instrucions and just watch, don´t even say that the app is yours. Try to do it a lot. If you want feedback from others, you can include the feedback form inside the app and suggest users to answer occasionally. I would also strongly recommend to use a tool as Flurry Analytics. Is the best way to get data from how is the use of the application. Pay attention to those data and be open to change your app a lot, you may need more features or cut some off to make it easier to use. If you need more help please contact me.BS
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What are examples of great questions to ask when surveying your customers?
Khuram's reference to what I call the "gap technique" is spot on. Few people will rate something 10/10 or A+. This gives you the opportunity to ask them how to achieve that highest rating. Once you do that: "Shut up and listen!" :) -- One of the worst mistakes is to get a participant talking (and many people talk way too much) but then to cut them off even though they're giving you substantive information (obviously, if it's drivel, then you do want to move on). You also have to assess those you survey: some are founts of information and insight while others have nothing to say. All are not created equal, as it were. In all surveys, whether in person or on-line, I recommend open-ended (i.e., unprompted) questions (where possible) followed by close-ended (i.e., prompted answers) questions. In other words: What is your favorite brand of cookie (with no list specified)? Perhaps they say Oreos. Later on, after they've forgotten that, you have a list: Which is your favorite cookie brand: a) Little Debbie; b) Mrs. Fields; c) Oreo; d) Duncan Hines? Now if those two don't match up, how valuable are these answers? So that gives you the ability to test for validity. Once you present the prompted answers, you've poisoned the well, which is why they have to come later. Hope this helps and should you have any questions, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss with you. Best, SteveSM
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What is the best software to use for adding a poll into a newsletter?
There are multiple survey software platforms. There maybe one that is better than another based on your specific needs. See below link to review the Top 10 survey software. http://www.capterra.com/sem/survey-software?headline=Top%2010%20Surveying%20Software&gclid=CLXsmM6SoM4CFQoJaQodgGUOFAJG
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How do I run a successful closed beta for my web application that is almost done with development?
Create an ideal customer profile. Create some questions that will allow to you survey a potential tester to determine if they fit your profile. Design simple landing page with very clear value proposition that speaks to your ideal customer. Ask for a minimum of information up-front (email), but ask for more info after they commit by submitting the first piece of info. (KISSmetrics does a good job of this on their current website trial signup). Use the their answers to these profiling questions to put the applicants into buckets. Let in the most ideal bucket first, or split them into groups if they're big enough. Try and measure engagement the best you can. Measure qualitative and quantitative data. Schedule calls with your beta testers to find out more, especially with the ones who's user behavior seemed to indicate that they didn't get value from your product. Find out why. Make sure they are indeed your ideal customer. Pick up the phone and get to know your customers inside and out. Meet them in person if possible. Incorporate their feedback quickly and get more feedback. Rinse repeat.DH
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What's your opinion on using something like usertesting.com vs. real time usability testing (online and offline)?
UserTesting can be instructive in terms of understanding whether people understand your copy, CTAs, and intended flows but generally, I've found the quality of their panels to be pretty low. You're almost always getting people who are not your actual users, so the feedback can only be generally applied as above. I find whatever web analytics package or packages you're using are generally able to provide much better insights. I also really do believe in *real* user panels. Buying pizza or offering small financial incentives to real users to click through new flows where they are talking out loud or answering specific questions is going to give far more actionable insights than anything else. What I like to do is take my best guesses as to what's not working or what I'm looking to improve and then discover/validate via real in-person customer panels. Happy to talk through this in more detail with you in a call.TW
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