7
8 Comments

What is the most effective way to validate product ideas?

Resisting the urge to just start building when I get excited about something is hard 😂

I'm curious what techniques, tools, and tips you folks have used to validate potential product ideas before diving in?

  1. 7

    Build a landing page that shows your product solving their (a potential user's) problem. You can mock up some images to display this. Write solid copy that says what problem is being solved in as few words as possible. Put some pre-order forms. Then make sure the landing page is reaching the people you're targeting.

    If someone preorders, you've validated your idea.

    1. 2

      But how does one get this page in front of the target user?

      1. 2

        Figure out who your target user is exactly. Who they are, what they like to do, how they experience the world, what they want to signal to other people. This will tell you how to best deliver your message in a way that will be well received. So they don't feel like they're being "sold" to, in other words.

        The message needs to be relevant to the target user. The goal here is for the user to see the message and relate to it. Ideally, should be saying "This is exactly what I'm looking for", but it could also be curiosity that leads them to further investigate your product.

        There's many vehicles to deliver this message: Facebook ads, long form written content, tweets, Youtube videos, and more. Choose the vehicle that's going to allow you to reach your target user and have them see your message. This could be paid or unpaid.

        Of course, the secret sauce is in actually crafting this message for your target audience :P

  2. 3

    Some things here might help.

    1. 0

      Thanks, Rosie 😄

      I'm sure it's on your roadmap, but some type of dropdown autocomplete for related questions would be a great feature.

  3. 2

    It depends on the target audience. If it's primarily a B2C SaaS or B2B targeting small business than a landing page is a good solution because it force you to think about lead generation in the beginning. Many other case, especially in case of enterprise software, you just go and have a coffee with some decision-makers in large companies. In other cases, if already existing in-depth market research exists and available for you, then it can validate specific needs. Or if it's is your own problem and you would be willing to pay if the solution would exist than itself be a good indicator. There is no silver bullet, and all of them have a risk of getting false positive or false negative signals.

  4. 2

    Finding someone who is ready to preorder and give the money is a good sign :)

  5. 1

    No rocket science and technical know-how needed. Just talk to potential customers and figure out the problem statement. Don't think, execute :) @saasify

Trending on Indie Hackers
How I grew a side project to 100k Unique Visitors in 7 days with 0 audience 49 comments Competing with Product Hunt: a month later 33 comments Why do you hate marketing? 29 comments My Top 20 Free Tools That I Use Everyday as an Indie Hacker 18 comments $15k revenues in <4 months as a solopreneur 14 comments Use Your Product 13 comments