Steps to Create a Product People Will Actually Buy
If you know design thinking then a lot of this will be familiar to you. The foundation of this method puts the customer or client’s needs first to help you understand what product to build for them before you start building. This critical step often gets missed by new business owners and many end up backtracking after full launch.
Why is it easy for entrepreneurs to skip? We’re used to using our own thoughts, feelings, and experiences as the inspiration for our products. It’s a personal aha moment that feels like you’ve solved the puzzle. However if you’re looking to make a profit, the idea needs to get out of your head and into the hands of people that will buy it.
Step 1: Understand Your Customer
You are not your customer so you should not be creating a product for yourself or in a vacuum. It's important to define who your customer is and understand their world. By this point make sure you’ve researched what types of products are already on the market and defined your customer base.
You have an idea of WHO your customer is and WHAT type of product you want to create. Now you need to understand WHY this product is for them. The best way to do that is to talk to them! Interviewing, surveys, and focus groups are all great ways to ask questions and gain insight.
Tip:
Remember to empathize with your customer. Their experience may not be your experience, but they are the ones that will be buying your product so avoid leading the conversation down a path you wish they would go down and just listen.
Step 2: Start Small
Check out this clip from the SheHive LIVE’s Ask Me Anything interview where I discuss this very topic!
Now that you’ve analyzed your customer’s needs you’re ready to build a prototype, an initial product to make your first sale or show someone for feedback. This shouldn’t be the final product so don’t worry about it being too polished. Think more along the lines of DIY, lower-cost, easier to create. If it’s a service-based business, outline your signature offering. If it’s a web-based product, draw a mock-up. The goal is to balance an accurate representation of what you want to be selling but not invest too much time, energy, and money into something that will be changing.
Tip:
It’s really up to you what stage you want to be at for this step. If you want to already be selling your product, you might be a little further along in your prototype. If you want feedback before your first sale, keep your prototype scrappy.
Step 3: Get Feedback
Your research and interviewing has led you to create your first product prototype: now it’s time to test it! Share your product with friends, family, and the original people you surveyed or interviewed. Host a focus group or party. Use pop-up market opportunities to get in front of a large audience. If you’re a service-based business, offer the service at a discount in return for meaningful feedback. When you’re testing make sure you are getting your product in front of the customer you already defined otherwise you may get mixed feedback. Remember, you created this product to fit the needs of a specific group. That doesn’t mean you can’t have customers outside of that group, but in this phase you want to be creating for your most targeted customer base.
Tip:
Make sure you create channels for your customers to give feedback either in person or online. Continue to actively listen: likes, dislikes, ideas, questions. Don’t be attached to your first idea or prototype. At the end of the day you want to create something that your customers will LOVE, not just like.
Step 4: Pivot
Building a business is a very personal journey and a lot of emotions can be tied to that first idea. However if your goal is to make a profit, you need to know when your customers are telling you to change your product. This doesn’t mean start from scratch. Instead, embrace the pivot and see your product as always in prototype phase. As customers’ needs and market competition changes, you may need to change with it. So tweak the recipe, upgrade the materials, expand your offering then repeat steps 2-4. This will create a reliable system for growth.
Tip:
Use the community of customers you’ve built during these steps to keep them engaged as new prototypes and products get released. Create an e-newsletter to send updates and inside news that only your exclusive customers get to hear about first.