Getting your first customers, even for interviews, is hard work.
You've already lost countless nights of sleep. Your idea eats away at your attention and your savings account.
You want to get going, and maybe even have an increment of product built. Now, it's time to figure out how to market it.
Yet it's all a game of chicken and egg. Launching a new product-based startup requires that you navigate a number of chicken-and-egg problems successfully. Which comes first?
Argh!
Unique chicken & egg challenges of early-stage
While seemingly logical, there are a number of pre-conditions which you need to meet in order to stop being a startup and become a real business.
If you don’t have money to invest, you can’t make more money. That’s the first big problem you need to solve.
What comes first then, the chicken (the earnings) or the egg (investable product idea)?
Moreover, you
The starting point, then, is a great offer (even if it's free) that confirms your ideal audience segment's key problem, to make sure that's the problem on which you want to bet your startup.
And do it at scale.
Quantitatively, if you can.
As quickly as possible.
Time and time again, tech founders and innovators launch products that are hard to describe and understand by their target market.
You are a world-class expert in your product. Which is exactly why it's hard to describe to someone else who hears about it for the first time.
Called the curse of knowledge, it's the most common reason for new product failure is not matching a product with a hungry market. And they can't be or get hungry, if they don't understand what your offering is.
On top of that, you're possibly making a lot of assumptions about both marketing and the individual prospects in that market. And wrong assumptions can be really expensive.
The curse of knowledge
They just want to know what your product or service does for them. And why it is relevant for them-right now.
It's best to focus on what lies in your control: what you say. What you say needs to overlap with what they know and understand, so that it connects with their needs.
That's how you build a product that someone is eager to try out. How you become a niche's hero.
Over 40% of new products fail because a market never existed in the first place. Startups and corporations invest heaps of resources into duds. Largely, this is because they make expensive assumptions.
Ones that cost founders years of their lives, leave gaping holes in the budgets in established companies, or expose them both to preventable risks. Why willingly play the game blindfolded, when you don’t have to?
Launch Tomorrow has developed a proprietary one-day pre-launch process that helps innovators target their prospects, and iterate quickly to discover the right message and product prototype.
Use customer-facing messaging to hone everything: Medium-Message-Market-Merchandise. And get them working together.
The 4Ms.
Map out exactly where you need to prioritize and execute for your product, in your market, at exactly this moment in time.
Why play archery blindfolded when entering a new market?
A clear and effective online message translates to other mediums
Road test your ideas in the hardest market for attention on the planet: online advertising. If they don't click, they definitely won't engage when you do launch.
Or leverage the content algorithms of social media giants, to stress test your messaging for free, so that you're sure you're onto something with the message.
Or do massive outreach to your ideal contacts, and find out directly from them-in their own words-exactly what you need to say to attract more of them in the first place.
A great message will work in multiple channels, especially ones where your target audience hangs out.
Stack the odds in your favor while you're still new to the market. Use your relative obscurity to your advantage.
Once the product clicks for customers, you can repeat the same experimental methodology with growth and scaling assumptions. Put the same message into new mediums and formats, to test your way to high growth.
Join Launch Tomorrow in swiftly and safely exploring the art of the possible.
Work with Luke Szyrmer, an experienced innovation, product and marketing expert. Using the market testing techniques, Luke Szyrmer discovered there was unmet demand for a book on Landing Page MVPs. His book, Launch Tomorrow, was a bestselling success, despite being relatively unknown at the time.
Since then, Luke has used market testing to become:
All on the side...
Speaking of the book, it's the best place to get started with the approach.
Support the author (and get a better deal) by buying direct
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Use a landing page as a minimum viable product, in order to:
“Reading Luke's book was like making the jump to light speed in Star Wars. I’m now working with a completely different time constant than I was a week ago…Thanks to your book, I’m now confident there’s real value in the concept, and am planning to take the next steps on a prototype.”
Early Stage Founder
"In my corporate consulting days, I used to tell my clients market research is a waste of time, because projects usually took 3 months and required a budget of $50-150K. But this stuff really changes the equation!”
Marketing Expert, Former Managing Partner, McKinsey & Co.
"The Lean Startup meets direct response marketing. Eric Ries meets Gary Halbert.
Launch Tomorrow by Luke Szymer provides a step-by-step approach to quickly launching an idea, a product, campaign, or business in a way that doesn't cut corners on acquiring scientific, validated learning in the marketplace."
Clickmakers
Get feedback from Luke, to identify the best next steps in your startup journey.
The internationally famous persona tool based on both direct marketing and UX principles.
Because it's based on interacting with audiences, it's pretty universal. The principles are largely independent of technology, and based on market selection and their buying process.
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