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About the Episode
If you’re like me you just go from idea to building without thinking through the whole idea. Well, I think that’s a big mistake and today’s guest tells us that development is the easiest part of the process and shares the analysis that we should do before we actually build the product. Also, listen to the way that he frames the questions that he poses to potential customers to get to the heart of the problem that makes it easier to make the sale.
Keith Casey is the Director of Product at Clarify.
Show Notes
Analysis Required Before Building the Product:
- Who are your competitors? Why would they buy from you as opposed to somebody else? Look at the successful ones and ask what made them successful. These are your competitors.
- Look at the unsuccessful ones and ask what made them unsuccessful. Ask yourself where they went wrong and how is the product different from those that went wrong.
- Give a checklist to a nontechnical person of how to get started on an app. Ask them to write a paragraph of what the app is and another paragraph of what the app is not. This is to help draw some of the boundaries of the future app. What it can do and cannot do.
The above-described steps are the processes a developer should undertake before actually building the product. These processes will speed up the app development, give it focus and will save the developer a lot of money and time because boundaries have already been clearly defined even before starting the building of the product.
Questions to Pose to Potential Customers For a Successful Product :
- I am building this app that is going to do this…What do you think?
- I am trying to solve this problem…Is this a problem for you too?
- The last time you had this problem, how did you solve it?
- How much time did you spend on this problem?
- How much money did you spend on it?
The questions posted above are a gauge of how much people would like your product. There is a sharp contrast between products people intend to use and what they would actually download and use. Thus, it is important to formulate questions that start with “How did you…?” and “How much..?” rather than “Would you” questions. Questions must be historical rather than aspirational such as the “Would you..?” questions.
Show Mentions
– So you want to build an App blog post
– Fav app: TripIt: (iTunes | Google Play)