Download - Market-Validation-Presentation-CSUF-Oct 2014
Top 3 reasons why businesses and products fail:
1. Out of touch with customers
2. Lack of product differentiation that resonates with target customers
3. Value propositions are not clear, concise and compelling
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Let’s discuss: • Secondary research – the foundation
• Customer interviews
– Three levels and the information you need from each
– Where to find potential prospects to interview
– Ways to structure questions to get the answers you need
• Assessing the results of your customer interviews
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The ideal process
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Secondary Research
• Trends, challenges, market conditions, pain points • Market segments and growth projections • Competitive and substitute products
Gaps, opportunities,
target segments
• Validate research and assumptions • Determine urgency of problems/
demand for your solution • Select best target market segments
Conceptual solutions
• Market-driven • Reduce risk • Streamlined
development
The typical process
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Product ideas & market assumptions
Attempt to sell - get poor results
Build
Then figure out what customers
really need
Research first • Industry/market trends and
challenges, and operational impact
• Current solutions
• Sales and distribution channels
• Government regulations
• Competitive landscape
– Market positioning
– Products/features
– Top customer segments
• Market segments
– Un- or under-served
– Growth or decline
– Decision makers (buyers vs. users vs. influencers)
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Resources • Search
– Be open to discovery
– Go beyond page one of results
• Social media
• Conferences and Trade Shows – Listen to questions asked
• Government agencies
• Industry associations, bloggers, analysts – Beware of spinning
• Competitors
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Next Step: Validate Assumptions and Identify Market Pain
No product or company discussion! This is not a pitch.
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The objectives: • Determine if pain points are urgent and pervasive
• Accurately assess market interest and demand
• Uncover the right target markets
• Create a better business model
• Deliver a market-driven solution
Important interviewee data to gather: ü Consumer: Age, geo loca1on, income,
children, etc. ü Business: Posi1on, company size, industry,
decision making authority, etc.
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Interview methods and finding prospects
• Use a combination of face-to-face and phone interviews, and online surveys
• Survey platforms (e.g. Survey Monkey Audience)
• Conferences and Trade Shows
• Industry publication subscribers
• Industry association members
• Social media
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Formulating interview questions:
• Open ended and build on information
• Probe:
– Why? Tell me more? How would that work?
• Don’t assume – ask and be open minded
• Ask respondents to rank products, features, options – use force ranking when appropriate
• How does the customer define the problem? How they are trying to solve the problem today?
• Look for keywords and stories, not just statements
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• What are the top three trends impacting your industry and your company?
• What’s the impact of these trends on your department? – Time, revenue, profits, productivity, growth
objectives?
• How are you solving these problems today?
• What would the ideal solution look like? – What would be different?
– What would be the result?
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Broad market assessment
ü Validate assumptions ü Understand market
pain – urgency and pervasiveness
ü Evaluate existing solutions
• Think of your current [technology platform or product]. Please walk me through the process (observe if possible)
– What additional resources did you need?
– What was most frustrating? Most useful?
• What was the purchasing process and criteria?
• Of the following features/services, which 5 are most important?
– Drill into the “why”
• What would prompt you to change solutions today?
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Drill down
ü Evaluate the gaps ü Find consistent
responses among target segments
ü Narrow potential product concepts and target segments
Compare these interview questions:
Limiting questions
• Are you experiencing a lack of skilled talent when recruiting?
• Do you attend industry conferences to learn about new products?
• Are you satisfied with your current electronic medical records software?
Better questions
• What are your company’s top three recruiting challenges?
• What resources and channels do you use to research new products?
• On a scale of 1 – 10, how satisfied are you with your EMR software?
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• Does this solve the problems we’ve discussed? How?
• What’s your biggest concern with this solution? – Beware of “hmmm, that’s
interesting”
• If this were available today, would you purchase it? Why?
• Is this solution worth $X? Why?
• How would you describe this product/solution to your friends/colleagues?
ü Confirm market segment pain and your solu1on fit
ü Determine if/how much they will pay
ü Establish posi1oning/UVP
Final Concepts
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The results
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Clear problem defini1on – urgent and pervasive
Market/industry segments to target
Problem-‐Solu1on & Product-‐Market
fit
Streamlined product
requirements
Compelling posi1oning/UVP
To learn more:
• Four Steps to Epiphany, Stephen G. Blank
• If You Build It, Will They Come? Three Steps to Test and Validate Any Market Opportunity, Rob Adams
• Tuned In, Craig Stull, Phil Myers & David Meerman Scott
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THANK YOU!
Eileen Licitra, Principal
Concentric Focus [email protected]
949-374-8674 LinkedIn.com/in/eileenlicitra
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