Keep going or shut down?
Keep going or shut down?
Hey fellow indie hackers! I launched an Uber-for-x web app for a very niche home service a week ago. The market for this service exists, but is definitely a niche, though I was hoping to make it more accessible by making the service on demand. I’m at a crossroads as to whether I should shut the app down or keep going, and could use some input.
Here’s what I’ve done so far. I’ve spent around $200 on FB ads targeted toward my audience over the past week in three major cities in Texas (where I live), had 16,335 people see one of my ads, and had 345 people click the link (~2% click through). From there I have about a 65% bounce rate on the site itself.
I’ve done several retargets of people who clicked the link, spent significant time on the site, interacted with my facebook page etc. I’ve promoted it on my personal social media accounts, talked to friends/family about using it, contacted local papers, and had a booth at an event where my target audience would be. However, I have yet to have a customer convert.
I’ve had people look over my ads/site, and there doesn’t seem to be any large discrepancy that would scare people away (ie the site looking phishy/phony/bad design etc).
Everyone I’ve told about it thinks it’s a really cool idea, but after talking to a few friends who initially expressed interest, I’ve realized while people would like to use the service, the service doesn’t hit a pain point, as much as a this-would-be-nice-to-use-but-I’ll-do-it-in-the-future-someday point.
All that to say, I feel that it’s not a good product-market fit, but other people close to me think that I need to give it more time. However, I don’t want to spend my time and money on something that isn’t working.
Have any of you been in this boat, and if so, what did you do?
Thanks!
A week is not a long time. It's too soon to consider shutting down.
Somehow you need to talk to some of the people who land on your homepage and figure out what their objections / fears are. Once you know that you can address those objections in your copy.
Without being able to see the site for constructive criticism, and without knowing what "x" is, I'd say your only options are to shut it down or to pivot in the direction of the nearest industry pain-point.
But there's not really enough info to go on.
Two things I suggest to learn more about your site visitors (if you haven't already):
install Hotjar and watch recordings of people browsing your site. See where they are dropping off
Install a chat widget (intercom or even FB Messenger chat widget on your site) and actually talk to your visitors. See if they are really looking for this service.
If marketing is not yet working, go back to a sales approach: write down 5 names of actual people who might use your product (who are not your friends) and ask them 10 minutes of their time to pick their brains on how they solve this problem (don't pitch your solution just yet). See if there are any disconnects in your basic assumptions. Ask them how much they might pay if this problem is solved in an (easier/faster/better) manner.
Do step 3 at least 4 times.
Talk to at least 20 real people (not friends) before making a decision to continue or pivot.
Uber for x? it's a delivery service for goods? this is not the kind of "indie hacker friendly" industry, look for something achiveable with a $100 budget and part time dedication, there are plenty of opportunities out there.
I don't know how about web app you're talking about, but if you create a "right" landing page and use some free methods to drive traffic to your site, you will definitely have more success. I used only free methods to drive traffic to my design project and achieved $7K+ in a month. It was not easy, but I tried lots of different ways to drive traffic and communicated with my customers day and night to see their pains and give them good prices.... (promo codes and good conditions of partnership)
Can you keep it running for a low cost?
Organic traffic and SEO instead of spending on advertising?
The bounce rate worries me to be honest. I'm not sure how your landing page is structured but either two things are happening: 1) People are not interested in the value proposition or 2) There is no obvious call to action for people to take. Statistically speaking you would say number 1. You did everything that you could to take a lean approach to customer validation. Before you pivot or shut down entirely maybe talk to the few users that signed up?