Hacking Customer Development

Hacking CustDev: The Open-Source Playbook Lean Startup NYC March 1, 2011
Patrick Vlaskovits
@vlaskovits
vlaskovits.com

Why bother?
Avoid building things nobody actually wants.

Risk mitigation in the context of an early stage tech startup is WHY you should do Customer Development . PS If that doesn’t make sense to you, don’t do CustDev/Lean Startups. Seriously. PPS I am not kidding.

1) Question & Test your assumptions. 2) “Get Out of the Building”. 3) Iterate. The Three CustDev Meta-Principles

0) There are NO rules… 1) Question & Test your assumptions. 2) “Get Out of the Building”. 3) Iterate.

0) There are NO rules… Hacking CustDev = CustDev + MMA

The Classic Smoke Test/MVP from 1975

Sophisticated Variants of the ‘Smoke Test’ Traffic  MVT/Landing Page  Conversion

Learning about your customers is a lot like fishing…
Source/Referral/Channel
Messaging/Positioning
Pricing/CAC
Conversion Rate

B2B/Enterprise: Screenshots + LOI

Outside of Tech Startups Why do you think it takes 6-8 weeks to get your !@$&&^$@! snuggie?

Outside of Tech Startups

Kickstarter

“ Ghetto Testing”

Best Practices: Concierge/“Manual”-ation

[Your competition] SUCKS!
Place online ads that say “[*insert your competition here] sucks” that drive users of a competitive product to a landing page for lead generation for CustDev interviews.
PRO-TIP: Do UX review on their products.
Source: In Witness Protection Program

The Magic Wand
Ask the subject of your CustDev interview, “If you could wave a magic wand, what would you be able to do?”
Source: Cindy Alvarez
http://www.slideshare.net/cindyalvarez/kissinsights-customer-development-tactics

The Magic Word
Ask the subject of your CustDev interview for “advice” and don’t sell.

Price testing without charging

Confuse to Clarify
Willfully mis-characterize a interviewee’s opinion to elicit further response in order to keep them talking and ensure you understand their position.
Source: Sachin Agarwal

“ Phone Support”
Upon sign-up for your application, ask if the user wants free phone support. If they affirm, prompt them for phone number and name.
Source: Dan Martell

Now, what you got for me? Original Post on CustDev Hacks here: http://vlskvts.co/hhqEB7

PDF http://www.CustDev.com Paperback (AMAZON) http://bit.ly/EGCDPaperback Kindle (AMAZON) http://bit.ly/EGCDKindle An Intro to Customer Development

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Hacking Customer Development

by Patrick Vlaskovits on Mar 03, 2011

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