Answers
Jun 28, 2017 - 01:13 PM
Could you please be a little more specific? With a question that broad I'd just say "go read the Lean Startup book"
Jun 28, 2017 - 02:23 PM
This is a broad topic for the fact that customer development is dependent on the industry and type of business/solution you are offering. Customer development process and implementation for technology company/solution will be very different from an approach targeting say a construction or the food industry.
Having said that, let me try and break it down from a strategy perspective.
At the very basic level, start by figuring out the following:
-CO
Having said that, let me try and break it down from a strategy perspective.
At the very basic level, start by figuring out the following:
- Determine which industry are you in
- Determine what type of product or solution are you offering
- Determine if your product/solution is for B2B or B2C customer
- Create your ideal customer profile
- Map out your target customer journey depending on the product/solution?
- Determine possible sales cycle by researching your competition
- Determine which sales activities are going to be most effective to reach out to your potential identified customers- cold calls, emails, trade shows, networking, partnerships, etc
- Determine where you are going to find your customers
- Implement your customer development (or acquisition) strategy
- Test and verify your assumptions with regards to your customers
- oWhat problems are they trying to solve?
- oWhat are the impediments preventing them from solving the problems in a timely, cost effective manner?
- oDoes your product save time, generate additional revenue, provide expertise, etc, etc?
- oIn other words, is there a product fit for what you are offering?
- Gather feedback - What can you do to make your product fit a better for what your customer needs vs your competition?
- Refine the strategy and
- Scale it to acquire more customers
-CO
Jul 05, 2017 - 11:36 AM
This is the magic question we all want to know. I can't tell you I have all the answers but here is how I think bout it:
1) It's an iterative process driven by hypothesis, testing/feedback and evolution.
2) It's never to early or to late to begin talking to customers. The sooner you start though the better off you'll be.
3) Be open to changing your view of the ideal customer or the ideal product. Go in with hypothesis each time but stay objective; the feedback is not about you and it is not personal. Stick with the data.
4) Nothing talks better than money so asking questions is better than nothing but you may get positive feedback but no sales and vice versa. Just means you need to keep going.
5) This is art not science so . . . this contradicts #3 somewhat, because of point #4. You're spending your time building a product/service so make sure to please yourself first. My findings are congruent with Steve Jobs statement that customers don't know what they want until you show them. To be more clear, this is the case as long as you have an idea and not a product. You know definitively when you actually have a product to sell.
Hope some of this is helpful and not to confusing.
1) It's an iterative process driven by hypothesis, testing/feedback and evolution.
2) It's never to early or to late to begin talking to customers. The sooner you start though the better off you'll be.
3) Be open to changing your view of the ideal customer or the ideal product. Go in with hypothesis each time but stay objective; the feedback is not about you and it is not personal. Stick with the data.
4) Nothing talks better than money so asking questions is better than nothing but you may get positive feedback but no sales and vice versa. Just means you need to keep going.
5) This is art not science so . . . this contradicts #3 somewhat, because of point #4. You're spending your time building a product/service so make sure to please yourself first. My findings are congruent with Steve Jobs statement that customers don't know what they want until you show them. To be more clear, this is the case as long as you have an idea and not a product. You know definitively when you actually have a product to sell.
Hope some of this is helpful and not to confusing.
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