10 Steps from Idea to Product- for a sharp beta launch

Going from idea to getting your product launch right can be a complex journey. Complex not because the building is hard, but knowing what to build is key to getting it right.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”, Abraham Lincoln

10 steps to rocket launch your product (Credit: SpaceX)

Here are the 10 steps it takes to go from the napkin idea to actual users!

1. Idea: Congratulations! You’ve identified a problem and care about it enough to try to solve it. Write down the problem statement, the potential customers who face this, and IYO (in your opinion) the specific issues that your potential customers face.
2. Detail & Validate: Talk to these potential customers, and find out the real problem they’re facing. This is a crucial step, because sometimes your customers won’t word the problem for you, or will just mention symptoms or specific issues off hand. You’ve got to be perceptive, to figure out the problem.
   For example, when we were building the telemedicine service, there was no such comparison to give customers. Most consumers hadn’t experienced ‘consulting a doctor through chat/phone, behind a paywall’. So, we couldn’t ask them upfront if they would do such a thing as pay and chat with a doctor. In the first consumer interaction, we tested asking about this, and because they hadn’t experienced it in actuality, their responses were often based on their interpretations of the situation, which was all over the place, and thus unhelpful.
   Thus, we talked to customers about their clinic experiences, the frictions they faced, and eventually we figured out that patients visit clinics only when the problem becomes a lot more serious, that its worth their time to visit the clinic.
   
   In this specific case, we were building a 2-sided platform, so we had to talk to doctors also. Fortunately, doctors (much like B2B customers) are a more captive audience, extremely sharp, and many had tried online consultation before, so our interactions (QnA) were a lot more focused and their responses were very useful.
   
   One great practice is to record these conversations (with their acknowledgement). Listen and re-listen to them along with your team, to truly interpret the problems.
   Another great way to interpret problems is to simply watch the operations/flow of your customers. If its a shop, office or a clinic, spend a few hours just observing their behaviours and their friction points.
3. Money Problem: Among the various frictions and problems faced by your customer, order them in priority, to pick the ‘money problem’.

… continue reading on dhruvg.com, 10 Steps from Idea to Product