{"id":472,"date":"2013-11-29T16:39:12","date_gmt":"2013-11-29T16:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/debane.org\/franck\/?p=472"},"modified":"2013-12-09T16:09:52","modified_gmt":"2013-12-09T16:09:52","slug":"getting-your-first-customers-simplified-customer-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debane.org\/franck\/getting-your-first-customers-simplified-customer-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting your first customers – simplified customer development"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes startups come to me with this problem: we have created this great service, how can we get our first customers.<\/p>\n

Those startups quite often need to put a hold on product development and focus customer development.<\/p>\n

What they don’t actually know is:
\n– are they addressing a real, existing problem or a burning need ?
\n– does their service or product actually solve the problem – to the eyes of their target customers (or to their wallets should I say).<\/p>\n

Answering those questions with genuine insight from real people is what customer development is.<\/p>\n

Here is how to do it. It look and sound easy can be very tricky as it’s goes against a lot of expected cultural and social behaviours.<\/p>\n

Find 10 potential customers from the target group and understand if the problem you are solving is a big pain or they dont really care.<\/p>\n

For each customer understand where they stand:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \nDid they have the problem ?<\/li>\n
  2. \nDid they know they have the problem ?<\/li>\n
  3. \nDid they look for a solution ?<\/li>\n
  4. \nDid they hack a solution ?<\/li>\n
  5. \nDid they pay for a solution ?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Customer<\/p>\n

    Achtung! Don’t ask them those questions. Have a conversation – not an interview – about the problem you are trying to solve and understand how they are solving it today. At the end, categorize them into the buckets above.<\/p>\n

    Once this is clear, the question is, how do I find those 10 potential customers ?
    \nBe creative, try different methods. Which ever method works best can later become one of you marketing \/ communication channel. Drop the one that dont work. If you can’t find those first 10 customers, how are going to find 100s of them ?<\/p>\n

    If your product solves the problem, the people that you identified as paying for a solution (the last bucket) are your potential customers. You can start selling it to them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Sometimes startups come to me with this problem: we have created this great service, how can we get our first customers. 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