If you want to start a successful startup, market research is one step you can’t skip.
This is the stage of the startup process during which you gauge interest in your product or business. It’s also called validating your business idea.
You’ll need a lot of high-quality feedback from potential customers, both to determine whether or not your business plan will be viable and to identify ways to improve.
So, how do you get started gathering this feedback?
It’s easier than you think!
Here are 10 easy ways to validate your startup or business idea
1. Do Research
This one should be a no-brainer. You can’t jump right into entrepreneurship without looking at all existing information about your market.
There might already be a lot of research into the problems you’re trying to solve, so doing your homework can really pay off.
Start with a simple Google search into the demands of your target market and see where it takes you!
Additionally, there are plenty of online platforms out there that are designed to help you manage customer feedback and reviews, including:
2. Create a Prototype
Creating a prototype is an important step toward validating your business idea, especially if you’re trying to do market research for a physical product.
A prototype is a model of your product or business idea. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should be an effective representation of your vision.
The process of making the prototype should help you evaluate your idea for yourself to figure out if it works. It also provides a concrete representation you can show to people so they can give you more specific feedback.
3. Put Together a Focus Group
A focus group is a method of doing market research for a startup or product in which you bring a group of people together to give you feedback.
It’s a great way to gather observations of how people respond to your prototype. And of course, you can conduct in-depth interviews to gain insight.
Participants in a focus group can be anyone who might have an opinion about your business idea, from friends, family, and colleagues, to volunteers recruited online, perhaps through a Facebook group or Google Forms survey you create.
The key is to encourage honest feedback.
4. Make a Survey on FeedbackJack.com
Fortunately, this is one of the easiest ways to get feedback on your idea for a business.
FeedbackJack.com is a site that allows creators of all kinds to create surveys and send them to their target audience. All you have to do is specify the questions you want to ask and the demographics you want to answer them.
You can ask questions about every aspect of your business model, including graphics, pricing, names, and general interest in your services. FeebackJack will provide detailed reports on the responses you receive and offer valuable insights into what your target audience wants to see.
5. Build a Landing Page
Once you have your prototype and surveys in order, it’s a good time to create a landing page for your project.
You can use your landing page to validate your startup idea by directing visitors to survey questions and offering ways to contact you with feedback.
You can also monitor web traffic to your landing page to get an idea of how many people are interested in your business.
To make things easier, sites like Leadpages exist to give you all the tools you need to make a killer landing page!
6. Use Social Media
Since so many people congregate there, popular social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are great places to get feedback on your business idea.
If you already have a substantial following, you can make a post on your page outlining your idea and requesting feedback from friends and connections.
Facebook and LinkedIn also have some reputable groups set up specifically to allow entrepreneurs to validate each other’s ideas, so it’s worth your time to join some of these groups and others in your niche.
7. Post on Startup Forums
Several forums dedicated to validating startup ideas already exist online.
Sites like Startups.com and StartupNation.com have discussion forums set up for entrepreneurs to come together and share their insights and experience. They’re especially beneficial if you’re looking to validate an app idea or business.
Consider joining one of these forums so you can start getting feedback on your business from fellow startup founders.
8. Post on Forums in Your Niche
You can also share your idea on forums related to your niche.
For example, if you want to do market research for a new product or get feedback on a Kickstarter campaign, you can search for forums dedicated to discussing the problems you solve or forums that your target demographic is likely to visit.
A simple search on Reddit.com is a great place to start! You can provide an overview of your idea and ask for feedback or post a link to a survey you have prepared.
9. Talk to Experts
Running your business idea by people who have experience in the industry can go a long way toward getting helpful feedback.
If you have some successful startup founders or other trusted mentors in your network, you can ask for their advice.
You can also join a site like GrowthMentor.com, which puts you in touch with experts who can help you evaluate your startup idea.
10. Get Testimonials
No one knows your business better than your customers, so they can be an invaluable source of feedback to validate your business.
If you’ve already had a few customers, reach out to them to request some testimonials. They might be aware of areas for improvement that you hadn’t even considered!
Conclusion
Doing market research for a startup might seem intimidating, but you don’t have to do it alone.
Plenty of platforms like FeedbackJack.com and others exist to help you put together surveys and get in touch with your target market.
Plus, you might find out that a lot of people in your network are eager to help you turn your startup vision into a reality.
Remember: when it comes to validating a startup idea, all feedback is good feedback, so try to gather as much as you can.
Don’t get discouraged if not everyone responds positively to your ideas. There are always ways to improve, and doing market research is how you identify them!
One word of advice: once you’re ready to move forward with your startup idea, you’ll need to take steps to protect it.
The best way to do this is by legally incorporating your business.
This can be a complicated process, which is why we recommend using incfile.com, a platform that lets you easily incorporate your business online.
Start there, and you’ll be well on your way to growing a profitable and world-changing startup!
