5 Questions to Use in a Market Validation Survey.
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Perhaps you’ve just had the best idea for a startup or you’ve been holding on to a great idea for a while and you think the time is right to unleash your innovation to the world.
Before you rush to build a website, design an app, and pay for Ads, you need to do a few things.
First, make sure you find your competitive advantage.
You’re never going to be the only business in a market, there are always competitors and although it’s easier to keep blissful ignorance, it will pay off to do your research. Determine who your three biggest competitors are and start taking notes. You should understand how they make money (revenue streams), what services they offer (business model), and what separates them from the other providers in the space (competitive advantage). Then, you should develop a strategy for your own revenue model, business model, and competitive advantage.
Next, work on branding and marketing.
Give your venture a name, design a logo (for free using a tool like Tailor Brands- do not pay for anything yet!), and play around with fonts, color schemes, and voices to find your brand’s authentic message. Once you’ve done this, you know how to speak to your customers.
Once you’ve determined how you want to come across to your customers, you need to figure out who your customers are.
In general, it’s always advisable to build a business in an industry that you’re familiar with. This allows you a leg up in the “market research” phase because you know where to look to find answers to basic demographic, socioeconomic, and psychographic questions.
Let’s recap before we get to the specifics.
You’ve mapped out your strategy by defining your business model, revenue model, and competitive advantage.
You’ve got your branding and marketing strategy in place.
You know who your customers are and how they think.
