Market research and idea validation process
So many indie hackers are building products without a proper market research and idea validation process.
I'm an ecom marketer, as well as a no-code nerd, and I've been hanging out with indie hackers in local meet ups.
Once thing I've noticed is that, sadly, often the passion of building a product blinds the builders, going all in on an idea to find out that there isn't any demand.
Obviously, doing both a good market research and an idea validation is not an easy thing
Recently, I've been starting to share content on YouTube, and I guess 2 videos can be really helpful for indie hackers too:
- Find and refine business ideas
- Make sure there is a demand
- Create a waiting list
- Launch a product with a preorder
These videos are not specifically made for indie hackers, but the concepts are the same.
Video 1: Find hidden gold mines on Reddit
https://youtu.be/4mHMsnt3TIQ?si=09Glc0MJswqf-cb8
Video 2: The discovery quiz funnel to validate any business idea
https://youtu.be/OvFiRlYLaFM?si=uPISjaU9aQuC6_R0
Hopefully, this content helps, there is nothing to sell 😉
useful stuff
I'd say creating a waitlist may be a waste of time in a B2C market.
I launched my first project with a waitlist, got some sign-ups potentially interested in the Pro version of the project, but when I developed it (by seeing "fake" demand from the waitlist) no one upgraded - I wasted weeks...
Lesson learned for me, two startups later, I prefer to launch an MVP quickly like I did with StartupUtils - Screenshot Editor for Indie Hackers and already got payments and boosted willingness to grow it, as I see results from a real customers, not people randomly joining a waitlist and not caring about the product.
If you launch an MVP in a few weeks, I prefer this way definitely!
I don't think a waitlist is a waste of time perse. While you are developing the MVP you can still have a waitlist, if it doesn't work oh well but it doesn't take much effort to set up.
This way sounds better, I personally haven't convinced myself yet to run a waitlist, maybe because I have no audience, so spinning up a new page and adding a waitlist would end up with 0 sign-ups.
It may be a wrong marketing route, as I start marketing mostly when I launch the MVP, not earlier :/
Totally see your point, in some cases and depending on your speed ability to deliver a product and its complexity, it can feel easier build first to test instead of creating a waiting list.
Although, you can't avoid a proper market research if you want to find the right message to sell your thing :)
When it comes to the discovery quiz funnel I explain in the video, the waiting list is a consequence of the research, not the whole point.
This is specifically a B2C strategy 🙂
It's similar to free trials. If you offer a free trial with no user engagement, you may get 1000s of those trial users and think you're onto something, which may be false.
Then you watch the conversion rate and get zonked, no one upgrades.
I saw profitable Founders started offering trials with "add your card first, remove at any time and start your trial now".
Results from such customers are much better, as they start to care about your product and you can see who's for real interested in your solution, and not only trying it, using once and leaving forever.
Market research and idea validation are crucial steps in ensuring the success of a business venture. Remember that market research and idea validation are iterative processes. Continuously gather feedback, adapt to market dynamics, and refine your business idea to increase your chances of success.