CUSTOMER DISCOVERY STEVEN DENNIS, PRESIDENT, SAGEBERRY CONSULTING/CONTRIBUTOR, FORBES MAGAZINE

Business Model Validation Lab Identify Assumptions Rapid Prototyping Mentor Prep + Cost Assumptions Strategic Planning Customer Discovery Customer Validation Mentor Feedback Keep Momentum

10% of startups fail because of product or technology failure 90% of startups fail because of inability to find customers and a market Steve Blank

The Customer Everything flows from validated assumptions of: who the customer is what the problem the customer has is if entrepreneur is able to effectively address that problem with a solution if the customer is willing to pay for it There is nothing more important to first determining if there is product-market fit. Every other assumption will flow from here.

Common Challenges Entrepreneurs don’t know exactly how to prioritize what to focus on in the early days of their venture Entrepreneurs don’t spend enough time in market Entrepreneurs underestimate how fast they can learn There is nothing more important to first determining if there is product-market fit. Every other assumption will flow from here.

Today’s Plan Learn how to find + interview customers Build a customer interview script Go interview customers

1. Customer 2. Problem 3. Solution 4. Value Prop

Your Job this Week Unknowns → Knowns This is a concept that will be drilled home again and again and again throughout the course of the Lab. Take an unknown and convert it into a known through increasing your rate of confidence in that thing being true. How do you increase your rate of confidence? You get feedback from customers.

What Have you Already Tried? Ask entrepreneurs how they have engaged with customers in the past? What have they done?

How to find customers Principles Identify the broad customer segment Follow the problem, not the solution/product Practice Online In-Person When looking to find customers, it’s important to look for people who are experiencing the problem. Go follow the problem, not the solution, to your customers. As you follow the problem, you will find that perhaps the solution - as you understand it - is not the best solution. Finding people who have the problem you are attempting to solve will leave you more open-minded about how your solution might adapt and change.

How to talk to customers

FRAME IT It is important for the entrepreneur to frame the conversation for the customer so they know what success looks like for the entrepreneur and what their role is in that.

Questions “Do you agree that these muffins are just totally delicious?” The importance of asking good questions: entrepreneurs who are excited about their solution might be inclined to ask questions about their solution or might ask leading questions that would give them the answers they want to hear. It’s important at this point to talk about the art of a good question: open-ended: It should not be a yes/no question non-leading: they don’t yield accurate answers not associated with solutions: when asking a good question, it’s important for entrepreneurs not to preface the question with the solution they have, or else they will be biasing the response why is this question bad?

Example Questions Tell me about your experience with/when _________? Walk me through how you ________? What pain points do you experience when _________? In _________ scenario/environment, what are you trying to do/get done? The importance of asking good questions: entrepreneurs who are excited about their solution might be inclined to ask questions about their solution or might ask leading questions that would give them the answers they want to hear. It’s important at this point to talk about the art of a good question: open-ended: It should not be a yes/no question non-leading: they don’t yield accurate answers

Listening > Talking You are excited about your solution, and will be inclined to just jump in and start talking about your product/service/solution Instead, the key is to be patient and do more listening than speaking The goal is to learn as much from the customer as possible

Next Steps Role Play (10 minutes) Build out an interview script (20 minutes) Practice (20 minutes)