Mon 30 Jun 2008
Talk Is Cheap
Posted by Megan Dorn under Small Business, Starting Up, Tips for Startups
All your buddies think that your product idea rocks. In fact, they think it’s the coolest thing ever and coincidentally so do your parents. Your significant other says that he or she would definitely buy it, and your sister has already started spreading the word to all of her friends. You must have the coolest product idea ever. Right?
(Cue quintessential game show buzzer signaling “you’re wrong.”)
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s a slight chance that they might be lying to you. In fact, there’s more than a slight chance. They may tell you they love your product, but let’s face it, they’re all talk. Even if they really do think it’s a great idea, that doesn’t mean they would be willing to fork over the cash for it.
This is a common mistake that many entrepreneurs make in the conceptual phases of their businesses, particularly first-timers. We often feed off this kind of enthusiasm without stopping to consider the source.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t trust your friends and family to give you honest feedback. They may very well be telling you the truth, but even their most honest opinions are still going to be biased. So you absolutely cannot use them to perform market research, or at the very least they can’t be the only people you consult.
Instead you need to talk to neutral third parties who closely match your target audience. Find out what they like, what they don’t like, if they would ACTUALLY spend their hard-earned money on it, how much they would REALISTICALLY be willing to pay, etc. The most important thing is making sure that these people feel comfortable being open and honest about their opinions.
It’s imperative that you accurately gauge the potential of your product. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen with family and friends. Don’t blame them though. Remember, they lie because they love.
June 30th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Right on Megan! We talk about how people should actually find people who are willing to put their money where their mouth is and buy their product when they are doing market research and/or asking people about their products.
Find people who could actually use your product, ask them what they think about it, and then ask them to buy it.
You can do market research, sales, and customer feedback all in one!
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Thank you for the information, there is always a lot of risk to build and manage a business and a new product. Is not only competition, but also managerial ability, capitalization, hiring, etc. Clearly there is a difference between a Business Owner and a entrepreneur. Business owners plan for all those contingencies and work on a plan to grow their business while Entrepreneurs are usually enamored with their ideas, but they don’t usually take into account what is needed to do to make it happen.
Daon from http://conxie.com the bad credit blog