How to Test and Evaluate Demand for Hardware Products before You Crank up the Factory
When it comes to manufacturing tangible products, the risks can be greater than for software development. Making changes to 10,000 physical objects is far more challenging than pushing a software update. Therefore, it’s paramount to ensure that hardware products are built with the right audience in mind. The question then becomes: How can you be confident that you’re building the correct product for your intended market?
The founder of Prelaunch.com, Narek Vardanyan, suggests that the key to understanding your customers is to study what they actually do, rather than what they say they will do. This requires getting customers to buy the product or place a deposit on it. Genuine buying intent is more valuable than someone merely expressing interest.
Making decisions based on people’s actual behavior is critical, and the data you track must come from the right types of customers. According to Vardanyan, working with those who are willing to spend money on your product acts like a filter. It ensures that you’re only working with customers who truly want to spend their money on your product – in other words, your potential customers.
To evaluate demand for your product before you start manufacturing, there are several strategies that you can employ:
1. Conduct Market Research
Start by conducting research to identify your target audience, which includes studying their behavior, preferences, and purchase history. Market research can provide valuable insights into product features, price points, and marketing strategies. Surveying potential customers, attending business conferences or trade shows, and analyzing competitor products are all useful methods.
2. Test the Concept
Before investing significant resources in manufacturing, it’s vital to validate the concept to ensure that it resonates with the targeted audience. You can conduct a prototype test or create a minimum viable product (MVP) to collect feedback from early adopters. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter are an excellent way to validate a product concept while raising funds at the same time.
3. Pre-sell Your Product
One effective way to evaluate demand before you begin production is to pre-sell your product. This involves creating a landing page for your product and offering a compelling value proposition to potential customers. Collect their contact information, and don’t forget to provide an option to pre-order. This tactic will help you determine if there’s a market need for your product before you sink your funds into the production phase.
In conclusion, getting your hardware product to the right customer requires thorough research and targeted marketing. In addition, assessing customer behavior and genuine buying intent is critical to evaluate demand before you begin production. Strategies like market research, testing the concept, and pre-selling can help you avoid the pitfalls of hardware development and enhance your probability of success.#tips #derisking #hardware #products
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