How Can You Test Business Viability Quickly?
Say you had an idea for a new product or service, you created a prototype, and users reacted positively towards your concept. Now, what's next? Testing its business viability.
With business viability, you're not only testing whether customers are interested in your product or service, but whether they actually want to buy it. It's important to do this since there is often a huge gap between interest in something and actually buying it.
How can you test business viability quickly? Here are a couple of tips:
1. Create a landing page
A landing page is the perfect starting line. You can include basic information about your idea and product or service on the landing page. Other great things to include: your customer's problems and how your product or service provides a solution, proof your product or service delivers on expectations, and prices.
2. Include a Call to Action
You can test your business viability by including a Call to Action that captures the intention of "wanting to buy". When customers are interested in a product and are willing to pay for it, they will be keen to show that interest even if it is not available yet. You can capture this in different ways: a waiting list, a crowdfunding campaign, or by offering pre-orders.
3. Keep people apprised
Keep the people who are on your waiting list, have backed you, or have pre-ordered from you interested in your product by updating them regularly. Update your landing page as soon as you have new information available, update screenshots, add feature pages, include demonstrations, etc. You can even provide customers with a newsletter to apprise them of recent happenings, and use social media platforms so they can back you in front of their friends.
4. Invest gradually
Once you see the first signs of business viability, start increasing your investment gradually. Add things to your landing page gradually and make it more professional. Keep your backers apprised while doing this so they can keep coming back to you. This works with more physical products as well: you can start building your storefront as you go.
5. Use explainer videos
Explainer videos show how your product or service works. People like them because they make things more tangible, and most people prefer watching short videos to reading through a lot of text, so your conversion rates may go up.
6. Understand how people behave
An important aspect of seeking proof of business viability is (1) convincing people that your product or service is what they need and (2) that the price for it is more than justified. To do this, you need to understand how people behave. As an example: people are visual creatures, so a great tip is to use visuals to make things more tangible and people can imagine themselves using your product or service.
7. Take a leap of faith
Applying all these tips can improve your business viability and chances of attracting customers, but it remains a test. You won’t know anything for sure until you actually launch something. Sometimes you just need to take what you've got and go for it.
