How to Validate Your Business Idea: The ultimate Steps

Validate your Business Idea

A business when enters a market, needs many factors to look into to establish itself. Lack of money and lack of a proper business idea are some negative factors a business should focus on. Another negative factor is the lack of market research. The business should create a well-designed business plan to focus on each and every factor.  

As per Dane Maxwell, the most vicious word in a business is “guess”. Whereas the most paramount word is “predictability”. Maxwell is an entrepreneur who has founded the software company “Zannee” and has written many books. He had attained expertise in the business sector at the age of 32. He developed the method of idea validation which has gained a lot of popularity. 

What is market validation?

Market validation determines whether your products and services are required in the market. It enables the business to predict the status of its offerings. Idea validation is the process of testing and validating your business ideas. It is a form of market research to test product ideas before launching them in the market.

The business can expect its profit through its products and services. Validation helps the business create a product that might be beneficial for it. This will create brand credibility in the market which would attract more investors.  

Benefits of market validation:

• Identify the future of new products- Market validation helps a business know the future of its products. You can save a lot of your capital if you can identify the risks of launching a particular product. To identify such risks, include market validation strategies in your business plan. 

• Identifies needs of the target audience- You get an insight into how your product will help your target audience. Your audience will get excited to see how well you solve their problems. This will help you set your business standards and set product prices.

• Builds a team of experts- Market validations can build a team of experts. Validation is often carried out by a combination of engineers, designers, and others. It is a team sport.

• Provide brand positioning- Validation will let customers determine your brand positioning. The voice of the customers can help you create a compelling brand. This way you will stand out from the crowd in your niche. You can thus improve your SEO and SEM strategies.

• Creates strong bonds with customers- Customers like getting involved in a brand’s promotion. Validation gives an insight into your company to the customer. This way they get an opportunity to partner with your brand. This further relates to a lasting bond between your business and the customer.

Steps to validate your business idea:

• Check the originality of your business idea: Find out if your business idea already exists in the market. To check this out, carry out an extensive search over the web. If your idea has already got materialized in the market, then you can tweak or spin it off to be unique and original.

• Seek out your competitors: Conduct competitive research to find out your competitors. Social media and extensive searches give an insight into your market. Make a list of your potential competitors and refine your business ideas.  

• Accumulate customer reviews and feedback: Establish your business goals. The best way to achieve this is by acquiring customer feedback. For this, you can create social media polls and surveys. Take part in professional gatherings and events to establish professional connections. This will help you to test your business ideas. You can also join online forums and groups which will provide customer feedback.

• Set SMART goals: The SMART goal framework will help you validate your business ideas. The overview of the SMART goal framework: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based. Every segment of the SMART goal framework will help you achieve your business ideas. This will ensure that you bring your products and services to the market. The SMART goal framework provides an overview of your business idea.

• Find your target audience: Know your audience before creating a business idea. To know your audience, conduct competitor research or conduct surveys. This data will help you find the pain points of your audience. You can provide solutions to their problems. Another effective way is creating buyer personas. A buyer persona is a semi-fictional structure of your customers. Your audience will decide the success and failure of your business.

• Explore relevant search volume: Explore the search volume of relevant terms. Customers use search engines to find out about a product or service in the market. The higher the search volume, the higher will be the demand for such product or service.

• Create a business model: Your business idea will decide the success of your business. Creating a viable business model will provide a future direction. Shape the path of your business idea to move your business ahead. Your business structure should align with your proposed business model. It should also align with your business goals.   

• Be persistent: The market validation process should be a continual one. Your approach to your business idea should be persistent. Track your results and make necessary tweaks as and when required. Try to solve every problem that comes throughout your journey. Keep learning through every mistake.

• Conduct interviews: Get to know the interviewee before you set up your interview. Try to understand each other. You may use questions that will be unique and creative. Make them know your role in your business. The product manager generally is the one who can conducts interviews perfectly. His in-depth knowledge helps him to be the company’s introducer.

Closing words:

It’s a difficult task to get your innovative ideas into action. Launching a business from scratch is a time-consuming act. The digital platform provides great opportunities for such launch. It provides new audiences to your business. Follow your passion to carry out the validation process.