lean market research for lean startup machine workshop

www.theleanmarketer.com

Lean Market Research

Rebecca Steinberg Herson

The Lean Startup Machine Workshop

Tel Aviv, Israel August 30, 2012

1 Copyright © 2012 Rebecca Steinberg Herson


A bit about me

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• Led global marketing for over a decade in tech

companies & non-profits

• 3 high-growth Deloitte Fast 50 companies

• Involved in IPOs, acquisitions (both sides)

• Primarily B2B, some B2C

• Today: founder & principal at The Lean Marketer,

providing outsourced CMO services to companies in: – SaaS

– Social Networking

– Big Data

– Physical Security

– etc.


Agenda

• Getting to know the customer

• Getting to know the selling environment

– Competition

– Channels

– Events

– Etc.

• Test, Test, Test

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Research Cycle

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Early Research

• What the customer wants

• What the customer will BUY

• What the competition is doing

• What is working for the competition

• …

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WHAT DOES THE CUSTOMER WANT?

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How to get to know your customer

• Old days

– Focus Groups

– Phone surveys

– Analyst Reports

– Trade Shows

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Today


Market Surveys • Use surveys to

– test product ideas

– confirm your instincts

– refine your message

– discover new potential customers

• Google docs - its completely free

– Can be edited collaboratively (whoever you allow)

– Lots of available designs, or embed in your own web page or blog

• LinkedIn Polls

– Survey your own network for free

– Survey specific demographics for a fee (~$1/response)

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Paid Survey Audience Solutions

• B2B:

– http://www.thinkspeed.com/ $3 - 5K/ survey depending on

the audience

– SurveyMonkey (IT Decision Makers)

• B2C:

– SurveyMonkey Audience

http://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/audience/

– $3.00 per finished response for standard demographics

(gender, age, income, education, employment, location.

Requires professional plan (~$20/month)

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http://www.thinkspeed.com/



http://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/audience/


IDENTIFY 3 QUESTIONS TO SURVEY YOUR

POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE

BETTER PRODUCT-MARKET FIT

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Learning @ LinkedIn

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IDENTIFY 3 GROUPS WHERE YOUR

CUSTOMERS HANG OUT

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EXPLORE YOUR ENVIRONMENT

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Don’t forget, polar bears can be sneaky


Identify Relevant Blogs / publications

• Skim them daily

• Comment on relevant posts/articles

• Share relevant content in your ecosystem

• Reach out to people for advice

• Come launch time, this is the basis for

your media list

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Social Media

• Search Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook for relevant people, groups, comments, companies, hashtags

• Follow, read their tweets, check their blogs

• Retweet relevant content – people appreciate it and it builds your credibility

• Tweet your own thoughts – be authentic

• “Lurk” for a while before you jump in – think cocktail party

• Then, start discussions (LinkedIn)

• Correspond with people who enter the discussion

• DM influencers (Twitter)

• Reach out to people – they are people, and most want to help

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Become part of the conversation

www.theleanmarketer.com Copyright (c) 2010 Rebecca Steinberg

Herson 16

www.theleanmarketer.com Copyright (c) 2010 Rebecca Steinberg

Herson 17


Trade Shows – concentrated learning tool

• If you attend, do your homework

• Check on twitter what people are saying about the event, tweetups planned

• Review all the exhibitors and speakers – who do you want to talk to? Do

you want to meet the exhibitors or the attendees?

• Most of the people in the booths are sales reps – is that who will be most

useful for you? Some companies also send executives, but they don’t hang

around waiting for visitors; you need to book an appointment

• The Press are also there. Don’t bother with them unless you already have a

customer they can talk to

• Look up the people you want to meet on LinkedIn and memorize what they

look like – you just might run into them in a hotel lobby

• Missed the show? View the archives online

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Free tools for Web research

• Identify industry events, active companies, potential

partners, competitors http://www.google.com

• Identify market trends over time, estimate potential volume

and geographies http://www.google.com/insights/search/

• Estimate traffic volume, cost of acquisition, find related

keywords https://adwords.google.co.il/o/KeywordTool

• Identify your competitors keywords:

http://www.keywordspy.com/

• Get your questions answered: http://www.quora.com/

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http://www.google.com/

http://www.google.com/insights/search/

https://adwords.google.co.il/o/KeywordTool





http://www.quora.com/


Don’t Know? Post a Q on Quora

www.theleanmarketer.com 20


IDENTIFY 3 PLACES (ONLINE OR OFFLINE) THAT

WILL HELP YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR

ENVIRONMENT (COMPETITORS, CHANNELS…)

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TEST TEST TEST

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A-B Testing

• http://pickfu.com - $20 for 50 opinions

– Use for A/B testing

– Gauge popular opinion

– Determine consumer preference

– Predict consumer behavior

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http://pickfu.com/


Test Early and Often

There is no substitute for watching real people try

(and fail) to use your product

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THINK OF THREE THINGS YOU CAN TEST

RIGHT NOW ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT

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Thank You!

Rebecca Steinberg Herson

[email protected]

+972-54-444-2372

http://il.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaherson

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mailto:[email protected]

http://il.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaherson

http://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaherson

lean market research for lean startup machine workshop

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