So, you just thought of a new business idea you really feel would take off. You’re excited and pumped up to start working on it immediately to beat potential competitors.
However, you might want to pace yourself and test out your business idea first. After all, you don’t want to invest your time and money on a product or service that has no market at all.
That said, here are steps to help you develop your business idea into something that’s profitable before you fully dive into pursuing it.
Develop a Test Product
As serial entrepreneur Greg Isenberg shares, he would always put off writing a business plan and recruiting a team for weeks after he has thought of a new idea. Once he’s sure the idea is something that people have a demand for, he then proceeds with building some sort of prototype of the product or service to show other people.
It’s recommended that you come up with at least a minimum viable product (MVP) that you can use during the rest of the development process. It would be useful as you take note of necessary tweaks and changes according to the feedback you get from potential customers or investors.
Customer Testing
Speaking of potential customers, it’s an important part of product development to present it to your target audience. Startup consultant Wayde Gilchrist suggests entrepreneurs talk to or survey at least 50 potential customers to see whether your product or service actually addresses a need they have.
Chip Bell, the founder of The Chip Bell Group, even recommends specifically looking for skeptical customers or friends to help you pick your ideas apart more effectively.
Create an Online Presence
Once you’ve tweaked your product to suit your target audience, you should start getting the word out about your product or business. And what better way to do in this day and age than establishing a social media presence?
Create a website for your business and use social media to inform people about what your product or service is all about. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram can also give you additional insight into how you’re potential customers react to your product.
Execute a Marketing Plan
Of course, all of your actions after the creation of your product prototype should be guided by a marketing plan. Having a good one and following would make sure you get a good measure of response during the entire testing process.
