by Page no: G106
Sessions
Initial Customer Development
2018-09-20: by Megan Todd
For each of your three Projects, you will need to identify 5 people that may be Customers with a series of questions that are outlined below.
Identifying Potential Customers
Customers are individuals that have a need for the offering that you plan to develop, and they are the person that makes the decision to pay you for the offering as well.
For the purposes of Customer Development, you should interview the person that will ultimately pay you. For most Projects at this phase, it may not be clear who will make the decision to pay you, so it is worthwhile to interview a range of people that may make the decision to pay you, referred to as Potential Customers.
Identifying the Potential Customers can be challenging. In an enterprise business, the human resources department may want your offering, but the CFO may make the purchase decision. In an advertising business, you may have users that need the offering, but a media buyer at an advertising agency would make the purchasing decision.
In order to find the real Customer, it is recommended that interview a range of Potential Customers to discover who will actually make the final purchase decision.
Interviewing Potential Customers
1. State the Initial Problem
Present your Potential Customer with one, two or three problems that you believe they have. Some examples of Problem Statements are below:
“I believe that teachers in kindergarten have a difficult time engaging with parents.”
“I believe that human resource executives at large companies have too many applicants to sort through in the average day.”
“I believe that young single mothers have difficulty buying supplies for their children.”
“I believe that young male smartphone users want to compete against their friends online.”
2. Ask to Validate the Problem
Ask the Potential Customer if they experience these problems and if they can clarify their perspective. An example question may be:
“Do you experience this problem, or is there a better way to describe the problem that you face?”
3. Ask to Describe Any Existing Solutions
Ask the Potential Customer what they are using today to solve the problem. Some sample questions may be:
“What tools or systems do you use today to address this problem?”
“How do you address the problem in your day-to-day activities?”
“What do you use now to address this need?”
4. Describe a Potential Solution (Briefly)
Briefly describe to the Potential Customer a solution that you are planning to develop. Some examples include:
“I believe that teachers in kindergarten have a difficult time engaging with parents.”
“I am developing a mobile app to send daily updates to parents with a photo from the class and a short update.”
“I believe that human resource executives at large companies have too many applicants to sort through in the average day.”
“I am developing a website with artificial intelligence to send the top 1% of applicants to you through email.
“I believe that young single mothers have difficulty buying supplies for their children.”
“I am developing a website where you can subscribe to get diapers and other supplies automatically each month.”
“I believe that young male smartphone users want to compete against their friends online.”
“I am developing a mobile combat game where you can buy virtual merchandise to outperform your friends in online combat.”
5. Ask if Your Solution Solves the Problem
Ask the Potential Customer if the solution that you presented solves the problem, and ask for clarification on how a solution might solve the problem better. A sample question might be:
“Does this solution solve the problem that we discussed, and do you have any ideas on how it could be improved?”
6. Ask about Money
Ask the Potential Customer if they would use the solution for free and if they would pay to use the solution. Develop a set of sample pricing from very high to medium to average to test the willingness of the Target Customer to pay. A sample set of questions might be:
“Would you use this solution if it were free? What would you pay for the solution if we had it right now? Would you use it if we charged $__(highest amount)__ per __(time)___? How about if it cost $__(medium amount)__ per __(time)___? What about $__(lowest amount)__ per __(time)___?”
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