4 ms·

I believe google adwords is the easiest direct way to find out if people are searching for something and are willing to pay for it. I did this by ensuring that

I believe google adwords is the easiest direct way to find out if people are searching for something and are willing to pay for it. I did this by ensuring that the ads stated that the conversion was a paid service. Unfortunately while there were many impressions, the ads generated very few clicks. Is there any other way to figure out something like this?

swombat 16y ago
Find real live people who are potential customers and talk to them. If you don't have access to any potential customers in your network, then you probably should kill the idea or partner with someone who does (but that's kind of difficult if you don't know any such person).
- webstartupper 16y ago
  Unfortunately I don't have any potential customers in my network. If I did I would have picked their brain till they pretty much told me what to do :) This idea was kind of a shot in the dark to start with - so I knew this was a possibility.
  - michael_dorfman 16y ago
    Well, that's a good lesson for next time: don't even think about writing code until you've got 5 potential users lined up whose brain you can pick.
    - webstartupper 16y ago
      Thats True. I am a big fan of Steve Blank's book. However, often in the past I would analyze, research, analyze and then ... nothing. I figured this time I would just get something up there - and then figure out what I'm building along the way.
      - michael_dorfman 16y ago
        I guess it depends on how you "research/analyze". I've found that customers are really crappy at telling you what they want, and product suggestions (and feature requests) should be treated with extreme skepticism. However: they are absolutely brilliant at telling you what their problems are. Behind every feature request/product suggestion is a pain point of some kind; if you can find it, you usually can come up with a solution that is much better than what they would ever propose. So: find a group of people who have a common problem. Once you do that, you're on your way.
  - jon_dahl 16y ago
    You'd be surprised how helpful people will be if they don't think you're trying to sell them. Make a list of 10-20 companies that might possibly be users, search for their developers (search Google, look for a blog, look for a Twitter account, search LinkedIn), and get in touch with them. Say something like "Hi [name]. I see you're a developer at [company]. I'm building a service for people working with GIS data, and I'm trying to learn more about the space. Could I pick your brain over phone/Skype [or coffee/beer if they're local]?" You won't get a 100% success rate, but you'll learn a lot from the people who are willing to talk to you.
- ekidd 16y ago
  "Find real live people who are potential customers and talk to them." Yes, do this. Find 10 actual real-world users, and talk to each of them for 30 minutes. If you need some good tips on finding users, convincing them to talk to you, etc., see Steve Blank's "Four Steps to the Epiphany". At the very worst, this will still be less stressful than sales or political canvassing, because you're only asking people for their opinions (which they love to share) and not their money (which they prefer to keep). You'll probably need a list of at least 100 users before you find 10 who will talk to you. I _guarantee_ this will open your eyes, and save you months of wasted effort. Been there, done that.

swombat 16y ago

Find real live people who are potential customers and talk to them. If you don't have access to any potential customers in your network, then you probably should kill the idea or partner with someone who does (but that's kind of difficult if you don't know any such person).

webstartupper 16y ago
Unfortunately I don't have any potential customers in my network. If I did I would have picked their brain till they pretty much told me what to do :) This idea was kind of a shot in the dark to start with - so I knew this was a possibility.
- michael_dorfman 16y ago
  Well, that's a good lesson for next time: don't even think about writing code until you've got 5 potential users lined up whose brain you can pick.
  - webstartupper 16y ago
    Thats True. I am a big fan of Steve Blank's book. However, often in the past I would analyze, research, analyze and then ... nothing. I figured this time I would just get something up there - and then figure out what I'm building along the way.
    - michael_dorfman 16y ago
      I guess it depends on how you "research/analyze". I've found that customers are really crappy at telling you what they want, and product suggestions (and feature requests) should be treated with extreme skepticism. However: they are absolutely brilliant at telling you what their problems are. Behind every feature request/product suggestion is a pain point of some kind; if you can find it, you usually can come up with a solution that is much better than what they would ever propose. So: find a group of people who have a common problem. Once you do that, you're on your way.
- jon_dahl 16y ago
  You'd be surprised how helpful people will be if they don't think you're trying to sell them. Make a list of 10-20 companies that might possibly be users, search for their developers (search Google, look for a blog, look for a Twitter account, search LinkedIn), and get in touch with them. Say something like "Hi [name]. I see you're a developer at [company]. I'm building a service for people working with GIS data, and I'm trying to learn more about the space. Could I pick your brain over phone/Skype [or coffee/beer if they're local]?" You won't get a 100% success rate, but you'll learn a lot from the people who are willing to talk to you.
ekidd 16y ago
"Find real live people who are potential customers and talk to them." Yes, do this. Find 10 actual real-world users, and talk to each of them for 30 minutes. If you need some good tips on finding users, convincing them to talk to you, etc., see Steve Blank's "Four Steps to the Epiphany". At the very worst, this will still be less stressful than sales or political canvassing, because you're only asking people for their opinions (which they love to share) and not their money (which they prefer to keep). You'll probably need a list of at least 100 users before you find 10 who will talk to you. I _guarantee_ this will open your eyes, and save you months of wasted effort. Been there, done that.