A custom talk for NC RIoT, a technology incubator in Raleigh, NC. Learn how Vaporware helps its clients focus on Customer Development instead of Product Development. Stop building stuff that no one wants, and start learning how to position your client and discover product-market fit!

1. Stop Building
what no one wants

3. Why listen to Dan?
Worked on > 50 products since 2013
I’m a Product Person
Not Developer, Designer, Marketer, or Salesperson
Specialize in Product-Market fit

4. Roll call
Have built a product?
Have 1 customer?
Have 10 customers?
Have 100 customers?

5. Building doesn’t work
Build free trial system
Build “viral” referral network
Build new feature for X sale to close
● New report or data view
● New data integration
Build new billing model
Build new feature for existing customer
Build new options to upsell existing customers
Customer Development vs. Product Development

6. What’s not working?
No Referrals
No Payments
No Stickiness
No Trials
No Signups
No Opportunities / Deals / SQLs
No Leads / MQLs
No Awareness
...
No Clue

7. Same tech, new position
EXPLORE
Define your Market
Specific Segments
Exploratory Interviewing
Discover the Problem
POSITION
Start with WHY
Unique Buyer Personas
Problem-oriented Features
Clear and concise
VALIDATE
Discovery Mindset
Timing
Resonance
Budget
… PROFIT?
Fail Fast
Successful “Hacks”
Persistence
Learning More

8. Explore

9. What is a “Market”?
A large cohort of people
Not an industry
Not a job role
Potentials
Why aren’t they shopping?
Our Customers
What other problems can
we solve for them?
Competitor’s
Customers
What problems are not
solved by the competition?
Evaluators
Why and how do they buy?

10. Specific Segments
We don’t have customers
New tech is better than competition
Only thought-leaders grow markets
Evaluators are the easiest sale
Potentials
Why aren’t they shopping?
Our Customers
What other problems can
we solve for them?
Competitor’s
Customers
What problems are not
solved by the competition?
Evaluators
Why and how do they buy?

11. Exploratory
Interviewing
Ask open-ended questions
Current behavior is competition
Actual vs Aspiration Behavior
Listen, don’t talk
Initial Discovery

12. Discover their perceived Problem
Usually an underlying cause of all the symptoms they gave you feedback for
Is the problem Urgent, Pervasive, and worth paying to solve?
Which problems did you already solve with your tech?

13. 5-10
Exploratory Interviews

14. Position

15. Start with Why
1. Why: Market Symptoms
2. What: Problem-Oriented Features
3. How: Product Features
Simon Sinek HOW
WHAT
WHY

16. Who are we positioning to?
● People, not companies
● Buyers, not users
● Symptoms, not problems
● Different industries, companies,
roles, and goals
Unique positions, same product

17. Problem-Oriented Features
1. List the symptoms
Use language familiar to the persona (not your language)
2. Group the symptoms into problems
5 or fewer
3. Create problem-oriented features
Antidote to the problem
4. Connect problem-oriented features to product features
One feature may support multiple POFs
Case Study: iphone-11 vs iphone-11-pro
Pragmatic Institute

18. Be clear first and clever second.
If you have to throw one of those
out, throw out clever.
Jason Fried

19. 1 day
entire team

20. Validate

21. Does this
Position resonate?
Validation through Observation
Testing 3 parameters
Determine comparative market fit
Return to Discovery

22. Position Validation
3
2
1
Budget
Timing
Resonance

23. Position Validation
Different times of year
Quarterly purchasing cycles
External events
Competitor changes
Reminder: Split Buyer and User Personas
3
2
1
Budget
Timing
Resonance

24. Position Validation
Reminder: Split Buyer and User Personas
Competitor strengths
Niche Markets
FOMO
Language Differences
3
2
1
Budget
Timing
Resonance

25. Position Validation
Reminder: Split Buyer and User Personas
Right buyer personas
What currency (value)
Will they pay us
3
2
1
Budget
Timing
Resonance

26. ∞keep doing it

27. … Profit?

28. Fail Fast
This is not a science. Not even psychology.
A day of positioning is worth throwing away.
A week validation test is worth throwing away.
Try that same thing again, later.

29. Growth “Hacks”
Fake Ads - Uber’s fake name test
Waiting Lists - “Coming Soon” and “Viral Gamification”
It’s OK to fill gaps manually - Zappos fulfillment or AirBnB on CraigsList

30. Persistence is Key
Not a silver bullet
This still requires traditional roles / functions.
It takes time, patience, and lots of effort
Should align all your efforts around a single strategy

31. Want to learn more?
Lean Startup, Eric Ries
Customer Development, Steve Blank
Pragmatic Institute, Steve Johnson
MindTheProduct Community, ProductTankRTP!
I’m happy to help - dan@vaporware.net