The Best Approach to Identify Individuals for Customer Development Interviews

Startups face a significant risk of building products that nobody wants, and market research is crucial in mitigating this risk. As a former product design lead for a successful B2C startup, I can confidently say that conducting both qualitative and quantitative research is the most accurate way to understand the market and its potential.

Understanding the Market through Research

Firstly, it's essential to understand whether there is a market and how big it is. This involves both quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative research helps identify market size, customer demographics, and potential demand, while qualitative research deepens your understanding of user needs, preferences, and pain points.

Conducting Quantitative Research

For quantitative research, there are several tools and methods available. Here are a few:

1. Google Surveys

Google Surveys is a cost-effective option to get a wide range of answers. With its easy-to-use interface, you can quickly send out surveys to a large audience at a relatively low cost.

2. SurveyMonkey and Typeform

Both SurveyMonkey and Typeform are popular survey tools that offer robust features for creating detailed questionnaires. You can integrate these with your existing audience to gather valuable insights.

Conducting Qualitative Research

Qualitative research provides a deeper understanding of the user. Here are two effective methods:

1. UserTesting

UserTesting is an expensive but effective tool for observing users as they interact with your product. It can be particularly useful for startups as it provides direct feedback on usability and functionality.

2. Scoops

At Scoops, we have a unique approach where you can survey people first and then interview them based on their responses. This method allows you to target individuals who have shown interest or who are potential users of your product.

DIRECT APPROACHES

If you find that online methods haven’t worked, you can also directly approach individuals in your target market. Here’s how to do it:

Attribute Identification

Start by defining the attributes of your ideal customer. Once you have identified the most critical attributes, find where individuals with these attributes congregate, whether physically or online. One way to find these individuals is through cold-calling them directly. While direct approaches can be effective, they might require more effort and resources.

Pro-Tips for Conducting Customer Development Interviews

Take notes during or after the conversation for later review. Conduct at least 6 interviews to gather a comprehensive understanding of user needs and preferences.

Full Disclosure

Recently, I built ConfirmKit specifically to make customer development interviews more efficient and effective.

Now, how about asking:

Your LinkedIn contacts People on the street Your target market SurveyMonkey () for survey populations A Quora survey question Previous work colleagues Your customer list at work (if applicable)

The choice of who to survey depends on your target audience. Choose wisely based on who is most likely to provide valuable insights!