Instead, I generated a splash page with our value proposition:
The button led to another page with a Wufoo survey:
Several aspects of the questions that Cindy used that weekend really resonated:
What do you think this product will do for you? It tests what the user thinks they are getting out of it.
The next question checks for who they think the competition is. Then a list of value propositions to find out what they think is most important to deliver in a product.
Then since we have an interested user, go ahead and try to recruit people for further beta testing of the product.
I made sure I had Google Analytics added to the site so I could see what happened when traffic got to the page.
I went on Facebook and ran a targeted ad that asked: Help your students. This got 63 teachers to the site. Of which 33% clicked the button to try the product. Then 11 actually took the time to fill out a survey for a product they now knew didn't exists.
From my experience with many products that haven't worked, this was a strong reaction to the value proposition as we communicated it.
We are not moving forward on this particular idea, due to a inability to visualize a monetization scheme that we believe is worth the development risk. But the exciting part was the speed and small amount of money spent on discovering consumer reaction to the idea. It was simple to target and attract potential customers, always a key consideration. Once the consumers saw the value proposition, we had a huge acceptance of the idea. All this for 2 days of brainstorming and $50 of advertising.
I am seeing a whole new way to start vetting ideas and testing them.
Posts
This is a very interesting idea. I still remember and use the ideas you taught us at Click Patrol and after – build a business plan and then find the least expensive way to test the greatest unknown. But usually the test requires several hours or days of development time. In this scenario – your biggest unknown is – 'Will anyone use it?' - which you answered with a very simple test. And in the process you have recruited the first set of beta testers and defined the initial features of the product.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the ability to monetize the idea, does everything we do have to be immediately – or even ever monetized? I think that we do somethings just because we want too, because we are passionate about them. Or just because they're interesting. If the development cost is low enough – or if we are passionate about the idea – then I think that the monetization aspect is a distraction. For example, we try to grow much of our own food. The economics are squarely against us. If I calculate the value of the labor involved, the cost of the land, the cost of rebuilding depleted soil, the I'm obviously losing money. On the other hand, it does make that $3 carrot taste good. :) We grow our food because we are passionate about it, it provides us with opportunities for living that store bought food can not provide.
Thanks for an interesting post. Did you do the YoYoTeach splash page? I like the design.
Joe
The splash page was a raw mimic of the design I saw Cindy Alvarez use at the Startup Weekend. It really focuses the value proposition.
ReplyDeleteI agree that monetization may or may not be important depending on what your outcome is. I do many things that have no economic outcome. In this particular case I have been working with another partner on coming up with a "big" education idea, so it is important for this context.