How to do Customer Validation: Market Research for Startups

How to do Customer Validation: Market Research for Startups

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  MARKET RESEARCH FOR STARTUPS: Howto do Customer Validation Judy Schramm, CEO ProResource, Inc. November 26, 2013
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  “Every entrepreneur thinks they’ve invented teleportation.” “Not everyonehas.” Eric Ries, Author The Lean Startup
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  How do you findout if your idea is really great? Talk to 30-50 customers! (or 30-50 people who know lots of customers)
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  Where do youfind them? 259 million members “World’s largest professional network”
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  Search tricks: title: marketing “cloudcomputing” NOT “open source” “financial adviser” OR “financial advisor” (cloud OR saas) AND (“health care” OR medical)
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  Join up to50 groups – the more groups you join, the more people you can connect with
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  Follow the Trail Peopleknow people like themselves
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  How to IntroduceYourself with a Connect Request Restrictions: • 300 characters • No email, phone or URL • Need to be in the same group or have their email Include:  Why them  What you have to offer (why you are contacting them)  What you want from them
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  How to IntroduceYourself with a Message  Must be in the same group  Need a subject line  Can include an email, URL and phone  Keep it short You don’t have to be connected!
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  How to Introduce Yourselfwith an OpenLink Message or InMail     No cost for OpenLink Limited # of InMails/month Extra InMails cost ~$10 Unaccepted InMails are returned and credited
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  Why Connect Requestsare Better The more people you are connected with, the more you can connect to Once connected, you have a way to stay in touch Average connect acceptance rate 25-60% But… accepting a connect request ≠ Yes You need a follow-up message with the ask.
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  When Messages areBetter When you need more than 300 characters to tell your story When you want to include a call to action with a URL, email or phone When you have a really compelling subject line When you have received too many “I Don’t Know” responses – this can happen to very active users of LinkedIn. LinkedIn may require that you enter the recipient’s email before you can connect with them.
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  How many peopleto contact? Average response rate 5% If you want 50 conversations… 1000
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  Run Experiments –Make it a Game Message #1 Message #2 Message #3 Message #4 Message #5 Try different benefits Use different words Target #1 Target #2 Target #3  You need at least 50 per cell  Tag them so you know who was in each group (and you don’t contact anyone twice)  Track results! Test different job titles, company size, keywords
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  Have Someone ElseDo the Work!  You design the experiments.  Have an intern or assistant do the searches and send out messages.
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  When You Talkto People  Ask for 10 minutes • Take 2-3 minutes to explain your idea • “Can you tell me why it wouldn’t work?”  If they say: • “That’s a good idea.” ≠ GOOD • “I know someone who might be interested.” = GOOD  Ask if you can stay in touch as you progress
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  Before You Start •It’s worth upgrading to Premium ($24.95/month) • Update your profile (see checklist) – Photo – Summary – Current job? – Endorsements • Expand your connections (LIONs), OpenLink
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  Contact Judy Schramm ProResource, Inc. 703-824-8482 [email protected] www.MarketingIdeasYouCanCopy.com www.linkedin.com/in/judyschramm @proresource Wedesign LinkedIn lead generation programs for B2B tech firms.