Initial Product Marketing Guidance
Here at @TrussDesk we are having a bit of a debate and would like some outside opinions.
FYI /Context: TrussDesk is a Helpdesk / Ticketing system.
We are debating if we should release a Beta with pretty much what we have today, which is a shared inbox / ticketing type system. Most of the features you might expect, Email channel only currently.
Or should we Niche down a bit more, focusing on say Ecomm and add a few features which would make it a much better proposition for ecom site owners.
This is a question of moving more quickly or trying to find better product market fit.
If it makes a difference In both cases we are just looking for some Beta users to gain feedback / validation.
Are you sure that ecom owners would find your product useful? Maybe join a few FB groups (plenty of dropshipping/shopify groups out there) and ask/interview some users.
If it turns out they're interested, it's a great segment IMO. There are plenty of Shopify apps doing well only from the Shopify App Store (and you could also launch on other stores like WooCommerce/Magento extension store etc.)
I def agree with Alex, but I think you should also need to look at this from a distribution perspective as well.
Facebook groups are the worst. Nothing productive come out of facebook groups but a bunch of people spamming ref links everywhere.
Thanks, I have asked users about some of the challenges they face running support for their stores. Thats what led to the additional features for the niche. There are a few others players in the field who are all doing pretty well so I feel there is a need and that I have some good ideas as to the specific challenges.
Can you go a little deeper on what you mean about the distribution perspective? Do you mean in terms of getting in front of people or something else?
I would recommend to launch your beta and start getting beta users immediately. If there is a niche you want to focus on, you could try to get users in that niche and then interview them about how they would improve your product to fit their niche's needs. It can be hard to anticipate what certain verticals or niches need from a product perspective, it can be a more efficient use of time to iterate that with customers right away.
Thanks, that makes sense. I guess part of the idea of niching down was to try and have something more marketable to a particular group so it is a little easier to sell into their pain.
The issue we are facing at the moment is that if we launch the beta asap, how do we get the initial users, by niching we can at least get in front of a group we have a message for, if that makes sense?
Maybe Im over thinking it, perhaps looking at some potential marketing audiences for the broader product might be worth while.
Can you "niche down" without doing too much extra work? Basically build your marketing and messaging towards, for example, e-commerce, but just launching what you have now. Maybe promising some e-commerce-specific features in the near future that sound tantalizing to potential testers/beta users. Then you can start iterating. And if it turns out that it was the wrong market/niche, you didn't invest too much down that path.
Thats a fair call. Put something out, public road map and see if anyone bites. Learn and iterate from there. I like that.
I guess I struggle with getting people to use something that isnt finished yet.. My brain gets stuck on, but it doesnt do everything they will need yet.
I feel the same way and have seen a lot of people around me get massively rich because they had no qualms about releasing a 80% finished project. I am trying to break myself out of my own perfectionism and spread lesson to others.
I totally feel you! I always have to overcome my perfectionism as well. But in most cases it won't help to continue developing into the dark. If you don't get the right feedback as fast as possible, most probably your not developing according to market needs.