What is market validation?
The process of gathering evidence around ideas through testing to make quick, educated, and risk-free decisions is known as concept validation. It’s a process that usually begins with an idea and ends with a paying consumer. The goal of idea validation is to test the feasibility of an idea in the real world before building and releasing the final product or service.
So why should ideas be validated?
To prevent developing and selling a product or concept that no one wants or is willing to pay for, an idea should be validated before putting considerable time and money into it. The goal of idea validation is to ensure that your idea has actual demand; otherwise, it risks becoming “just another cool idea.” The concept must be able to solve a real problem, achieve its goal, or appeal to other incentives.
Factors that influence the success of your idea:
Validation is a continuous improvement process that does not end with the first assumption. Even if you have a real problem and a proven solution, there are additional components of your idea that may require validation as you develop it:
Compatibility – Is your concept seen to be compatible with the needs of potential adopters?
Complexity – Is the concept simple to grasp or does it necessitate new knowledge and skills?
Trialability – Can customers try out your product before buying it?
How to validate an idea?
Although there are a variety of approaches to validating an idea, the overall validation procedure is rather straightforward:
1.Establish your goal
Validation, like any other concept management process, begins with identifying your objectives. You’ll determine what you want to learn and what aspects to validate at this point.
You goal can be one of the following, for example:
Problem – Is your problem true/worth solving?
Solution – Is your product/offer going to solve the problem?
Features – How do the core features of your product work?
Business model – Is your business model viable and scalable?
Price – Is there enough demand to make your business model work with the price you’ve set? How does your pricing model work in practice?
The goal of your goal is to find the most important assumption associated with your unique idea, therefore make sure you start with the most important.
2.Create the hypothesis.
It’s time to build a hypothesis based on your concept validation goal after you’ve established it. A testable statement with a prediction is referred to as a hypothesis.
The idea is to begin with the most important assumption. That is the one most likely to fail, and the one with the most serious effects. What must be true for the concept to be feasible?
3.Experiment and make changes
Once you’ve formed a hypothesis, you can begin testing it using experiments.
The goal of experimentation is to find the quickest and cheapest means to put your hypothesis to the test in real life. An experiment is a test (or a series of experiments) that measures the effects of a hypothesis and determines if you should pursue your idea.
You can learn how to improve your idea or product while going through the validation process.
There are numerous approaches to conducting an experiment:
Create an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
- Landing page
- Physical prototype
4.Validate and improve
At this point, you should confirm whether your assumption is correct or incorrect. You can start developing your idea if it has potential and the most crucial assumption is right.
Remember,
Validating your idea with potential clients is not a sales pitch. It’s a great discussion with a potential client that will essentially be an advocate for your business and brand. It’s not a win-or-lose situation. It’s a win-win situation! It’s also the most effective way to take your idea and company to the next level.