How To Create Incentives For Target Customers to Give You Idea Feedback
Get out of the building from day one they say.
It will be fun they say.
The whole concept of coming up with an idea, writing a problem or solution interview script and speaking to prospective target customers from day one has gained popularity in recent years as Steve Blank’s customer discovery model and later, Eric Ries’ lean startup movement have taken hold.
While we can sometimes get away with online testing, we often have to face up to the much more socially confronting task of interrupting strangers simply going on about their business on the street, which is no easy feat to say the least.
How many times have you been asked for “just a minute of your time” to talk about some charity they are raising money for? And how many of those times have you walked right on by, made an excuse as to why you couldn’t stop or said something dismissive?
It’s not because we’re heartless. It’s because we only have so much time to give, only have so much money to give, probably harbour doubts about how effective said charity is (that’s another story) and while we probably don’t care to admit it, deep down we’re asking “what’s in it for m?”.
So if you’ve gone through the process of ideation, mapped out a proposed business model and have defined its key assumptions, how can you ensure the success of your outside of the building efforts so that you can not just build, but measure and learn as quickly as possible - something fundamental to the success of any new business doing anything new in the early stages of its lifecycle.
First, make sure you’ve clearly defined your target customer segments and personas. This should include basic demographic information in addition to their goals and challenges. You should know where they hang out online and offline, their preferences and so on.
Based on you should be able to identify where you can find your target customers but also offer relevant incentives so that target customers give you said “minute of time”.
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The WorkFlow podcast is hosted by Steve Glaveski with a mission to help you unlock your potential to do more great work in far less time, whether you're working as part of a team or flying solo, and to set you up for a richer life.
To help you avoid stepping into these all too common pitfalls, we’ve reflected on our five years as an organization working on corporate innovation programs across the globe, and have prepared 100 DOs and DON’Ts.
